Friendship is Undead
by markhaox14
Summary: The undead overran Ponyville, & the last ponies left must use their wits and resources. But sometimes the undead aren't the biggest threat to the survivors; sometimes it's themselves. One pony is going to find the solution to this horror at any cost. Will he succeed, or will the undead, or even his group, get him at his weakest? Caution: Dark Themes/Humor, Violence, Language, Drugs
1. Calm Before the Storm

**Note: Hey, guys! Brought forth my third story, a zombie fic! Characters are from the other two stories I have. Takes place about ten years after _The Phoenix Rises_, so it will have many of the characters older than before. This story is very grim and violent, so unless you like reading zombie fics, you might be disturbed at some of the passages. This story WILL be updated every Sunday (or Saturday if possible) until completed. Please read and review! Enjoy!**

**Note: A.C. equals after Celestia, for those of you wondering.**

It was a very bright day in Ponyville, just as it always was. The town square bustled with activity, the ponies all seemed to be having fun, and all throughout was the constant, cheerful idle chatter. The square then turned and saw Alan coming through, and they warmly greeted him. He greeted them back, just happy to be alive. He was a bluish grey Pegasus colt, ten years old. His long, black and blue mane had covered much of his forehead, but was groomed and brushed neatly. His golden, auburn eyes shone brightly with the day.

Where he was going next was not as happy as it was in Ponyville. He had wanted to visit his father some time ago, but couldn't bring himself to do so. It brought pain and sadness whenever Alan thought about him, because he hadn't seen his father in over three years. But he finally gathered the willpower and, to an extent, courage to do so. There were many reasons as to why his mother kept him away from Alan's father, but she never revealed them to him.

Living in Ponyville was his mother's idea, and he happily agreed to it while she had the many important matters to attend to each day. He would make the most of each day, meeting with his friends and helping out wherever he could. Sometimes he would go overboard, though, and he'd leave a mess to clean up for others.

He walked through the town, carrying with him a saddlebag, and had wanted to ask for directions as to where his destination was. He walked up to a pony, and had announced his question very shyly and quietly. "Um… excuse me? Could you help tell me where the…?" he asked so very quietly that he didn't make himself clear for the rest of his question.

The pony looked at him. "Alan, you're gonna have to speak up, cause I can't hear a word you're saying." The pony recognized him because she was familiar with Alan's father when he was young.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash. Could you tell me where the… the… cemetery is?" he asked more clearly.

Rainbow seemed to recoil at the question, knowing he could only be going there for one thing. _Poor kid… he's finally going? _"Um… yeah, it's north of the town…" she answered uneasily.

"Thank you…" he said without enthusiasm or happiness. He wasn't a jerk, but who wanted to be happy to go to a cemetery? If you were, you'd be considered psycho. He then headed towards the town's north entrance, where he saw Dinky Doo, Derpy Hooves' daughter, playing with his other friends. He didn't want to grab their attention, so he walked past them quietly over the bridge and outside of town.

…

He reached the cemetery at around noon or so, and he looked around the eerie place. It was empty, no pony around other than him. He went around the cemetery, inspecting the stones marking each grave. He finally found the one he was looking for, and walked up to it. He was filled with sadness, and he broke down on the grass in front of the stone. _Dad… it's been three years… but I came._ He got up, tears still coming out of his eyes. He read the inscription on the stone in front of the mausoleum:

_Magnus "Leon" Trot Antrorsum_

_November, 3000 A.C. - January, 3025 A.C._

_Loving husband, father, and ruler._

_For the Phoenix has burned out, but will rise again soon._

He had finished looking at the stone, and stood beside it for a while. He bowed his head as a sign of both respect and mourning. Alan then took out something from the saddlebag. It was a locket, which contained one of the only family photos Alan had of his father. He remembered that day, around three years ago, just days before his father died.

…

Leon and Chloe were preparing themselves for the royal family photo. Leon groomed his mane, Chloe brushed hers, and Alan had struggled while his mother forced him to put on a bow with her magic.

"Mom, why do I have to wear this stupid bowtie?" Alan asked.

"Alan, dear, we don't want this photo to come out looking like the last one, so we have to redo it," Chloe replied.

"Dad, can't you do something about this?" Alan asked.

"Trust me; your mother even forced me to do this! Besides, bowties are cool! We just need to stay still for a minute, and we're done, I promise," Leon guaranteed. He loved his family, and would help his son with anything, just as his parents, although not biologically related, took care of him.

"Fine… let's just get this over with." Alan, Chloe, and Leon all walked in front of the camera, and prepared for the photo. "Can I photo bomb this one like the last one, Dad?" Alan asked excitedly.

"Not this time, son. Even though I want to very much, your mother has forbidden it," Leon said gleefully, earning him a glare from Chloe. They all turned towards the camera. "Besides, I do want a nice photo for us, so that you always have something nice to keep of us, as a family," Leon said seriously.

"OK, we're ready!" the cameraman said. "Make this a keeper!"

The camera then flashed.

…

He smiled at the memory, and placed the locket back in his saddlebag. He then took out the other thing Leon had left Alan; the Amulet of Rebirth. It shone in all of its glory a bright red. Alan himself had never placed it on, but he always kept it with him as a reminder of his heritage. He noticed it started to glow very brightly, and then it died down. He placed it back, and finally took out one last item; a clover sandwich. He placed it gently on the ground in front of the stone. _Your favorite, with the sugar cube inside and a bit of apples, clovers, and carrots._

He then turned to leave, and saw a lone figure standing on the other side of the cemetery. _Weird, I didn't see any pony when I came in._ Alan stood still, staring at the figure. He couldn't make it out quite well, seeing as it was on the far side. The figure then turned, and stumbled away from the cemetery towards town. _Well, seeing some pony here is never easy. That one probably couldn't stand it here, so they left back to town._ He packed his bags, and set off towards town as well.

…

Back at town, he set off to where his friends were still playing. Dinky, Applebloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Eric, and Draco were all trying to see who could remain upside down the longest. They all saw Alan, and greeted him warmly. Draco, who was Alan's roommate and, hidden from Alan, babysitter in Ponyville, turned towards him. "What's up, Alan?" he asked. Draco was much older now, being eleven years old, but in dragon eleven years is about… an adult. Because of this, his voice was deep, and laid back.

"I think I'm gonna head home," Alan said distantly.

"WHAT!?" the group asked.

"But, you just got here! Are you sure?" Dinky asked.

"Yeah… I am. I don't really feel like hanging out. I'm sorry," he said sincerely.

"Well, it's no problem. You doing all right, Alan?" Eric asked.

"No. I don't want to talk about it," Alan admitted.

"OK, then. Hope to see you tomorrow when you're better," Dinky said.

"You too, guys. See ya," Alan said. He and Draco left towards their house in Ponyville, a cottage somewhere near the outskirts in the south, a bit before the Everfree Forest. Draco turned to Alan. "I assume you went to see Leon?" Draco asked.

"Yeah. He told me you were one of his best friends, if not your brother," Alan replied.

"Yeah, he told me that too. The reason being he hatched me. What did you bring?" Draco asked, seeing the saddlebag.

"Just the locket and amulet. Reminds me of the past, you know? It's times like that that make me want to see him again…" Alan said, trailing off.

"Maybe you can… who knows?" Draco said as they arrived to the cottage. "We're here," he said as he unlocked the door to the cottage. They both stepped inside, and shut the door. "I'm going to eat some gems…" Draco said as he left towards the kitchen. Alan had wanted to rest since he left from the cemetery. He headed up to his bedroom, opened the door, and lay in his bed, where he fell sound asleep soon afterwards.

…

Alan awoke to the sound of banging on his door. He got up and opened it. Draco rushed inside, and cowered under the bed. "Hey, what's up with you?" Alan asked.

"Well, it turns out Ponyville has gone to shit! See for yourself!" Draco said panicking. He led him to the bedroom window, and showed him the scene. It was nighttime, but there was plenty of light coming from fires of nearby houses. Ponies were panicking, shrieking, running, trampling over each other. They all fled in one direction, as if running away from something. Alan stood shocked, and turned to see what they were running away from.

He then saw the most horrible thing any pony could see; a pony that was ripped apart in many places on his flesh was staggering towards the fleeing group, his stature suggesting he had trouble walking. But that wasn't the only one. About a dozen more of these ponies, all featuring grizzly gashes in their flesh, were also following the group. Their shadows, created by the fires, were dark and menacing.

"What the hell's going on? Those ponies need help, and they're not doing anything about it?" Alan asked angrily. "They're clearly in need of medical assistance!"

"Dude, I went out for some… never mind," Draco said pathetically. "But those ripped up ponies attacked some other ponies. And that wasn't even the worse part! They literally ATE the ponies! I booked it from those crazy psychos."

"THEY ATE A PONY!? WHAT THE FUCK!? I NEVER HEARD OF A PONY EATING MEAT, ESPECIALLY ANOTHER PONY!" Alan exclaimed. A thought in the back of his mind flashed. "Holy pony… we gotta find out a way to save the gang from these cannibals!"

"Fuck that noise! How about we run and hide instead? That always seems to work," Draco suggested.

"And let ponies get devoured out there!? No way! Come on, we have to head to my friend's houses. We gotta save them from these… these…um…" Alan said.

"Who cares? Just run like hell and hurry up already. If we're saving you're friends, we gotta do it quick!" Draco exclaimed. "Let's go!"


	2. The Night

**What's up, people!? New chapter out, so be prepared!**

Before Draco and Alan headed out, they peered through the windows of the front of the house. "There's no pony out there," Alan reported.

Draco turned to him. "Chloe said never to tell you this, but if we need to, I can be used as a flamethrower. If we're forced to, use it," he said.

Alan nodded, and opened the front door slowly. He headed outside, the night burning brightly with the flames of nearby houses. Draco was riding on Alan's back, shivering with fear. Alan knew he had to first head to Applebloom's house, just nearby his. He galloped silently through the streets, no sign of life anywhere except for them. Alan reached Applebloom's house in ten seconds flat. He ran up the entrance to the apple orchards, and saw the farmhouse in the distance. He galloped towards it, and knocked frantically on it. No answer. He knocked again, this time a bit louder.

"Not so loud, Alan! They might hear us!" Draco whispered loudly.

"I want them to hear us. They need to get outta here!" he answered.

"Not Applebloom! The other ponies!" Draco replied.

"Oh… right…" Alan admitted. "I forgot about the crisis at hand."

…

The Cutie Mark Crusaders had all gathered in the apple cellar, along with Applejack. "Why are we here again, Applejack?" asked Sweetie Belle impatiently.

"Yeah! We could be out doing more stunts right now!" Scootaloo said.

"Hush, y'all! There's a lot of ponies out there who are crazier than a pack of bloodhounds chasing a coon!" Applejack replied.

"Whatcha mean by that, sis?" Applebloom asked.

"I saw one of them crazies eat another pony! It gave me the heebie-jeebies, so I took y'all down here too," Applejack answered.

"Eat a pony? Are you sure, Applejack? Ponies don't eat ponies," Applebloom said.

"Sure as shooting," Applejack replied. She then stopped dead in her tracks when she heard a banging on the front door of the house. "Uh-oh. That ain't good. Stay here." Applejack then went up the cellar into the house, and checked the front door. She peered through the peephole on the door, and saw Alan standing there with Draco on his back. She unlocked the door, and pulled them both inside.

"Whoa! Applejack! Thank goodness, Ponyville has gone crazy!" Alan said.

"I know. I saw the whole thing. Ponies eating each other… nothing like that's ever happened before. You should be safe here with Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo," Applejack said.

"But I can't stay here when Eric and Dinky are still out there! We gotta do something quick!" Alan pleaded.

"You shouldn't go out there!" Applejack argued.

"I'm gonna try. I'm not letting them get eaten by ponies. I'll head back here when I'm done." Alan then left with Draco.

"Wait!" Applejack yelled out. "Take this," she said, handing him a 12-gauge, double aught, double-barreled shotgun.

"What's this?" Alan asked with a puzzled look.

"It's something our old grandstallions used to defend the farms from timber wolves. It cracked their wood as easy as an eggshell. It fired these here doohickeys at them." She showed him a case of 12-gauge ammunition, and he took it.

"So, how do I use this thing?" Alan asked.

She took it from him, stood on her hind legs perfectly, loaded a cartridge into one barrel, took aim, and fired at an apple cider bottle on the fence post. When she used it, it made a large booming noise, and followed by the shattering of the bottle into millions of pieces, made Alan tremble. "Whoa! That's pretty sweet!" Draco commented. Applejack handed the gun back to Alan, and bid him good luck. She headed back into her home, and locked the door.

"All right Draco, you use your fire if we get into any trouble, and I'll use this. Let's get going," Alan said as he traversed back into town.

…

Elsewhere in town, Eric had locked himself in the library where Doc once lived, along with Princess Twilight some years after him. He suffered from albinism, and because of it was a pale white earth pony, with a platinum blonde mane and tail and pale blue pupils almost blending into the outside of his eyes. He was very much like his mother, Annabelle, when it came to personality, but his appearance was more of his father, Percy.

Seeing as he had the largest home from the gang, Dinky had headed to the library when things went bad. Both ponies were trembling inside. "The doors are barricaded, right Eric?" Dinky asked.

"Yeah… of course," Eric said. "Good grief, what in bloody hell were those things?"

"Some kind of ponies who eat other ponies? I've never heard of anything like it. That scene outside was just… just…" Dinky trailed off, as it was too horrific to describe. Dinky began to cry. "If they eat ponies, what does that mean for every pony in Ponyville? Where are they? Where's Mom?"

"Let's not think about that, Dinky. We have to figure out where we'll hide, at least until this situation calms down. If it does, that is," Eric said hopelessly.

Banging came from the doorway, and the ponies stood still with fear. They made not one sound, move, or breath. The lights inside the library were dim enough to avoid attention from the ponies outside, but were bright enough to see inside the library. The banging then ceased, and the ponies sighed with relief.

Out of nowhere, an axe burst through the front door. There were many animal-like shouts and moans when that happened, and a phrase was muttered through the doorway. "Brains… are… mine…!" came from the other side. The gang inside all let out a bloodcurdling scream, and knew they had to act fast or be eaten slowly.

…

Alan made his way through the town relatively unnoticed, but he was still cautious all the while. "So, where should we go first, Draco?" Alan asked.

Draco considered this very carefully. "Where do you guys always meet up when you have something going on?" he asked.

"You're right! The bridge!" Alan said.

Draco face palmed himself. "No! What place do you go to when you have something important to say or when something's going on?" Draco stressed.

"You're saying they're at the library?" Alan asked.

"They could be. We just have to check," Draco said.

Alan and Draco headed to the library, and stopped and stood with horror when they found it broken into. Alan ran into the building, and realized he made a huge mistake doing so. There were a total of six ponies inside, all of them the rotten ponies he saw earlier. He stood still with terror, and couldn't move at all. They saw him, and started dragging themselves toward him.

"Alan, the gun! Use it!" Draco yelled. He got off of Alan and prepared himself to shoot fire.

Without hesitation, Alan whipped out the gun, opened the barrels, loaded two shells into them, closed the barrels, and stood on his hind legs, taking aim, but did not fire the shots.

"Well? What are you waiting for!?" Draco yelled.

"I can't! They're ponies! I… I can't kill another pony!" he admitted. The ponies drew even closer, and started moaning even louder.

"Um… they're gonna kill us if we don't!" Draco yelled, and after doing so, shot flames from himself, incinerating two ponies. Completely ignoring the fact they were on fire, they continued onwards. "HURRY!"

Alan, now motivated, took aim yet again, and fired a shot at one of the ponies. The shot hit its neck, creating a huge gap of carnage and gore, and the pony collapsed on the floor, bleeding out. Alan took aim again, and fired the remaining shell at one of the ponies that was on fire. The shot successfully hit that pony, plus one more, in the facial areas, leaving many pellet marks riddled into their heads. They both fell over as well.

"I'm out!" Alan yelled, desperately trying to reload the weapon as quickly as possible. Draco used his flames to completely burn one of the ponies, where it finally lay on the floor as a smoldering hot corpse. Alan had finished reloading, but it was too late. The remaining two ponies grasped onto him, one grasping his legs and the other grasping his gun. Alan shrieked in terror, and struggled to get free.

"Your brains… are mine…!" one of them said.

"ALAN!" Draco yelled out.

**To be continued next week! What'll happen to the others back at the farmhouse? Is Alan going to continue? Find out next time.**


	3. The Dawn

**Hello, people! Bringing forth a new chapter! What will happen in this chapter? Find out now! Also, keep an eye on that Walkman that comes out in this chapter... you'll see it much more often. Without further ado... let the chapter commence!**

Alan immediately knew he was going to die a painful death. But Draco wasn't going to let his best friend die at the hooves of some crazy psychopaths. He immediately used his tail as a jackhammer, and used it on the pony that grasped Alan. He drilled into the pony's skull, sending blood and brain matter flying upwards and spraying the area. The pony stood absolutely still, until Draco lightly tipped him over, sending him falling down, draining the skull of the remaining giblets inside on the floor. Draco approached Alan, and saw he was not wounded. He sighed in relief, and turned towards the last pony. Rather than charge at them, the pony stumbled back, somehow knowing defeat.

Draco, not wanting to let this one go, ran towards the last pony, and shot fire at him. The pony lit up on fire, and it shrieked in agony. It was a monstrous cry, nothing that sounded like a normal pony. It then fell over, burning brightly. Alan got up, and went up to Draco.

"Thank you… very much," Alan said gratefully.

"No problem… just glad you're safe." Draco walked to where the shotgun lay on the ground, and handed it to Alan. Alan took it, and continued to inspect the library. They crept much more quietly and cautiously now, and saw how neat the library was compared to outside. Draco then tapped Alan on the shoulder, and pointed him towards the only room left unchecked in the library. Alan approached it slowly, and knocked on the door. There was immediately a hushing noise on the other side of the door, and then silence.

Alan thought about what to do, and came up with the answer. "Guys? Are you in there? It's me, Alan. Say something!" he whispered loudly.

He heard whispering on the other side, and knew the others had to be in there. The lock on the door opened, and Eric peered out. He smiled with both happiness and relief, and opened the door widely. "Alan! You're OK!" Eric cheered.

"Yeah, I am. I came to get you guys so we could head to Applebloom's house. We'll be safe in the cellar at the house. So how about it?" Alan asked.

Eric didn't know what to do. On one hoof, he wanted to be safe and wait this thing out. On the other, he couldn't leave his home, or any of his friends behind. _What would Mom and Dad do? I haven't seen them in forever, and… and… I might not see them._ He started tearing up, but held it together. _What would they do?_

…

Before he moved from his old home at Clover Ranch, Eric had lived at the shop with his father, Percy. He enjoyed helping his father and mother with work, whether it was in the Clover Plantation or _The Olympia_, and made the most of it. One day his father had called him up to the living quarters in the restaurant. Percy was sitting in his room, waiting for Eric.

"Hey, Dad! Whatcha need?" Eric asked.

"Eric, sit down. I have something important to ask of you. I need you to stay in Ponyville for a while. Your mother and I have to go with Uncle Leon for something important," Percy replied.

"But… who am I staying with at Ponyville? I don't know anyone there," Eric contradicted.

"Well, I know Alan's staying there with Draco, so maybe we can find you an adult to stay with as well. How about you stay with one of Leon's friends at Ponyville, like Fluttershy, or Derpy?" Percy suggested.

"Derpy? Who's that?" Eric asked.

"Derpy is one of Leon's childhood friends. She loves taking care of foals, and I'm sure she could take care of you, if it's OK with her and you," Percy answered.

"Sure! I can't wait to see Alan and his friends again! But… but what are you gonna do, Dad?" Eric asked.

"I'm heading to Caelum to handle some business with Leon. He says it's time, so it is very important. I'll be back soon, but I want you to make the most of Ponyville, OK?" Percy asked.

"I don't know any pony in Ponyville… what do I do there?" Eric asked.

Percy had always answered this question of uncertainty with the same answer. "You should do the right thing, no matter how much it seems hopeless. That's what you need to do," Percy explained.

"You always say that, but I don't ever get what it means," Eric said.

"Maybe not now, but you will. It all comes with age, or experience," Percy said. "Just know that if you ever need anything, your mother and I will be there for you."

…

The memory of that conversation was very important to Eric, and he stopped leaking his eyes. "Good idea, Alan. We gotta head there first, and then maybe we can see if there's anything else to do."

"All right, before we go, we need to find a way to defend ourselves. Is there anything here in the library that can help us?" Alan asked.

"I think I know. When we came in, one of those ponies had an axe. Is there anything else we could defend ourselves with?" Draco asked.

"I got something." As he said this, Eric went into the room and pulled out a box. He opened it, and revealed a beautiful, titanium sickle. The handle was decorated with ivory and silk, and the blade shone perfectly.

"Nice blade. And if some pony wants, they could use Draco as a flamethrower. Right?" Alan asked Draco.

"Only this one time, ponies," Draco said as he readied himself to be used as a weapon. "One more thing; what should we name these ponies? I think there should be a creative name for them."

"Are you serious!?" Alan asked.

"Yes, cause if we see one we have to call it out. What do you guys have in mind?" Draco asked.

"Well, actually, I noticed that the ponies shamble slowly, they're rotten, and they're pretty stupid. So we got three possibilities there: Shamblers, Rotters, and Dumbasses. I think the best one would be Shamblers," Alan said.

"OK, Shamblers it is. We call it out only by that. Let's head downstairs quietly. There may be more Shamblers downstairs," Draco cautioned.

They all headed downstairs quickly, and walked over to the rotting and charred pile of corpses on the ground. Alan walked over to where the axe lay, and handed it to Dinky. They were now all armed with conventional weapons to use against the undead marauders. "OK, now we just need to get to Applebloom's house… quietly."

…

They all began running, screaming at the top of their lungs while doing so. They all ran from a group a Shamblers, now lurching towards them. From somewhere, a recording of "Yakety Sax" was playing loudly, and the song followed the group throughout. "Will you drop that fucking Walkman!? That's what got us into this shit in the first place!" Draco exclaimed. "Why would you even play music that loudly in the first place!?"

"I'm sorry, but we needed some comedic relief in this story…" Alan said. He looked slightly away, and then focused back forward.

"Oh, no. We got another Leon here, speaking to inanimate objects," Draco said.

"Just keep running! They can't catch us cause we're too fast for them!" Alan boasted. He turned around with a lot of confidence, and his eyes went wide with fear and surprise. Two of the Shamblers had begun sprinting after them. "Run faster!" Alan yelled out.

These two undead marauders appeared very different than the Shamblers did. They did not look rotten, dismembered, or cut up like most of them did; in fact, they didn't even appear dead at all. There was one characteristic that gave away their true source; the single bite mark on their bodies, indicating they were infected, but not undead. They still had the same craving for brains as the Shamblers, but due to their bodies functioning perfectly, they used their legs much more.

"It looks like we've got a couple of Runners!" Draco shouted. He rode on Eric, and turned around to shoot fireballs at the two Runners. He fired one, hitting the first Runner directly in the face. It caught on fire soon after, and fell to the ground burning. Draco took aim again, but the remaining Runner had stopped sprinting. It then walked in the opposite direction from them, and disappeared. _Weird… I thought for sure he'd still be chasing us._ Draco turned back around, and saw the orchard in the distance. "There it is!" he announced. He noticed Yakety Sax was still playing on the Walkman. "Turn that off! We don't want any more Shamblers or Runners following us!"

"Oh, right." Alan then turned off the Walkman, and then led the group to the entrance.

Daylight was finally coming out from the horizon, and they all ran through the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres to the clearing with the farmhouse. "Were we followed?" Alan asked.

"No… I don't think so. We're safe," Draco said breathlessly.

Alan knocked on the door to the farmhouse. About a minute or two later, he heard the locks open from the other side of the door. The door opened, and they were brought inside by Applejack. "Thank goodness you're safe. I hope no trouble came?" Applejack asked.

"No. We're all fine. But now we have a problem; some of those ponies out there can gallop, some even faster than before." Alan hesitated as he said this. "They could overrun Ponyville much more quickly now."

"What? They can… gallop? That's not a good sign," Applejack said.

"By the way, where is every pony? Where's Rarity and Rainbow Dash? Shouldn't they be taking care of Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo?" Alan asked.

Applejack stood still, as if ignoring the question. "R.D. is down in the cellar with the fillies. But Rarity…" she didn't finish. She stood still, with a silence that sent a shiver down Alan's spine. She looked away from the group. "I never found her. I don't know what happened."

_Only that means she's… dead? That… that's terrible. Does Sweetie Belle know?_ Alan thought to himself. "What about Pinkie… Derpy… Fluttershy… where are they at?" Alan asked.

"Never found them either…" Applejack stopped when she saw Dinky start sniffling. "Come on… let's head down to the cellar. We'll see what we could do for the time being." Applejack then opened the cellar from the floor of the house, and led them all down.

**WOW! We have two types of zombies now: the undead Shamblers and the infected Runners! Will there be any more zombie types? Who else is surviving this apocalypse? How will our group of survivors manage with each other? Find out next week!**


	4. The Day

**Hello, everyone! Wanted to bring this chapter a bit earlier than planned. Finally, some more survivors, or should I say "survivor", are going to be introduced. What does that mean, and how will the two different groups survive this apocalypse? Find out now!**

**Notes: The fourth wall references will now be reference as "the Barrier" to avoid confusion. I will post the names of MANY songs in the story to "play" from the Walkman (I do not own ANY of these songs) since they fit so perfectly in a zombie apocalypse. Lastly, notice anything about the titles of the chapters starting with Chapter 2? Tell me if you get the reference. Without further ado, here it is!**

Outside the entrance of the Everfree Forest, Fluttershy was outside feeding her chickens. She was happy, as usual, singing and humming the MLP theme song. "Oh, aren't you just the cutest things? You wouldn't mind sharing your food with our new friends as well, would you?" she asked them. The chickens continued eating, unaware of the question.

She giggled, and went back inside for more chickenfeed, and came back out. Instead of going to the chicken coops, however, she went to the shed she had near the forest entrance. She had posted a sign near the shed, reading: _Stay outta my shed._

She went inside, and called out. "Ponies! You're meal for the afternoon," she said calmly. The shed was dark, ominous, and eerily quiet. From the shadows emerged three ponies, all shambling towards Fluttershy. They dragged themselves closer and closer to her, and suddenly stopped just a yard in front of her. They were chained to the wall, and so could not reach her. They moaned in hunger, and stared at Fluttershy with expected looks. She dumped the bag of chickenfeed inside a feeding tray, and the ponies ate ravenously and noisily.

"You're just hungry, that's all. You can't think without eating, right Pinkie?" Fluttershy asked. One of the ponies eating turned towards her, and replied slowly.

"Yeah… Fluttershy… I just love… eating!" it replied slowly but excitedly. It was Pinkie Pie, but something was very wrong with her. She had a bite mark on her hind leg, and had no doubt succumbed to infection. But she didn't attack Fluttershy, mainly because she was chained, fed, and filled with chickenfeed. She spoke in a raspy voice, and was calm and collected. Fluttershy had found out that when they weren't hungry, they could think and speak to some extent, and they retained much of their memories.

"I… find this meal… a bit dry…" one of them complained. It was Rarity, who was also bitten. She had succumbed to the infection as well, one of the first ponies to do so. She continued eating the food, and received a bowl of water from Fluttershy. "Thank you… dear…" she said in a raspy voice.

The third pony continued eating, and when he had finished, said, "Eeyup…" It was Big Macintosh, Applejack's brother, who went missing near the beginning of the outbreak and turned up outside of Fluttershy's cottage, eating a hen. She was saddened by the death of her hen, but Fluttershy had taken in him to the shed and locked him inside.

"My, you haven't eaten nearly as much as you did the night before," Fluttershy commented.

"We weren't as hungry as we were yesterday, cause you take us food a lot!" Pinkie said with excitement.

"True… but you shouldn't eat other ponies. That's very unfriendly, and I'm sure they wouldn't like it one bit." By the way Fluttershy spoke, other ponies would think she lost it. She then left the shed with a farewell, and received one back.

"I should probably tell the others where they're at… but I'm sure they wouldn't mind me taking care of them!" she reassured herself.

She left back inside her cottage happily, and enjoyed the bright sunny day.

…

Alan and the others were now relaxing in Applejack's cellar, listening to the Walkman Alan had found on the streets. Rainbow Dash especially enjoyed one song that had played on it. "This song is totally awesome! What's it called?" she asked. It was a heavy metal beat. Alan picked up the Walkman to check.

"Um… it's called 'Partytime'. It does sound pretty kickass," Alan commented. "I remember this from an old movie, but I can't remember the movie's name… where did I hear this from?" he asked himself.

"Well, I just think it's pretty fucked up that you guys can have fun while death roams the streets outside," Draco said irritated.

The two Pegasi then turned away in shame, and went back to listening to music.

"We got to do something, like scavenge for parts or supplies. Either that, or we leave town and head back to Clover Ranch. It may be safer over there than here. What do you guys think?" Draco suggested.

"Two problems with that: one, Clover Ranch is about thirty minutes away by flying alone. By walking, that's probably two days. The second is that if this pandemonium has spread, we'd just be walking into another death trap. We just stay here until the Royal Guard does something," Rainbow Dash said.

When Alan first heard this, he thought of Cloud Runner, who had reformed Caelum Lux's military to that much more ferocious than the Royal Guard; the Arcanes. "You're right! The Royal Guard, or even the Arcanes should hear about this, send in some troops, and take care of this problem before it spreads."

"So... you ponies have seen these things already… what are they like?" asked Rainbow.

Alan remembered how horrible the Shamblers looked, and how equine the Runners looked, but how ravenous they were. "Well, we separated them by two types: the Shambler and the Runner. The Shamblers are slow moving, undead, and they're rotten skin gives them away from far. The Runner is much more dangerous. It's not actually dead, but rather bitten by the dead ones and infected. They look very pony-like, but they still got that ravenous hunger for… what was it, Draco?" Alan asked.

"Brains… that's the only thing those things want and say. Bunch of fucked up monsters…" Draco muttered angrily.

"So how did the shotgun work for ya, Alan?" Applejack asked.

"It worked wonders! That gun just dominated them!" Alan exclaimed happily.

"Yeah… they don't make 'em anymore, since there's relatively no violence in Equestria. These things are old relics from when humans existed…" she was then interrupted by Alan.

"Humans do exist…" he said, looking at the Barrier. "Am I right or am I right?"

"Anyways, we had found and restored this one here, and made it work again. It's been passed down from generation to generation, and stopped at mine… and Applebloom's." She stopped, as she shed a tear from her eye, wondering where Big Macintosh was. "It hasn't been used since Granny Smith first moved here. That's why I wondered if it worked or not. Glad to hear it did," she finished.

"I wonder how every pony else is doing… Mom… Uncle Orion…" Alan said distantly. Chloe was in Caelum Lux, where she ruled alone since Leon's death. She was very kind, very compassionate towards the citizens, and they celebrated her rule. Orion was down in Rapture, moving back to his old hometown after Leon's death.

Eric also started to worry about his parents. _I wonder where they are… I haven't seen them in a long time…_

Applejack wanted to comfort them. "There, there, we should consider ourselves lucky we're still alive," Applejack said.

"Lucky? You must not know what's really going on outside, then. We'll be living in hell until the Royal Guard comes. What food will we eat, huh? And don't say apples, cause I swear to God I will fucking get mad if you do," Draco commented.

"You know what, Draco? You remind me of Twilight's dragon, Spike. He was sometimes obnoxious, like you. Only he was friendly and nice enough to be cool," Rainbow said.

"That pussy of a dragon? The purple one?" Draco asked, and soon afterwards was laughing hysterically. "No, don't… don't say that, because I'll die of laughter. I have freedom to do what I like when I like, unlike him."

"What do you mean by that?" Rainbow asked irritably.

"He's a pack mule! Twilight had him busting his ass everyday, and he just took it. Hell, I remember them moving into this town, and she had him doing all of her chores for her," Draco explained.

"He did it because he could, Draco," Rainbow argued. "Not because he was ordered by Twilight everyday."

"Did you ever see me having to be Leon's slave when he lived here, Rainbow? I was born under the same circumstances Spike was, yet Leon treated me like a brother, not a pet. He should have stood up for himself," Draco said.

"Oh, and you can stand up for yourself?" Rainbow replied smugly.

"You're goddamn right I can!" Draco yelled.

"Draco, let's not get hostile. We're still alive, and that means we can still make it out of this," Alan said.

"True… sorry for snapping, Rainbow," Draco said shamefully. He didn't know why, but he had a soft spot for Rainbow Dash, and he never wanted to get on her bad side.

"It's fine... we should just focus on staying alive than on fighting," Rainbow said.

"So... about how long will it take for the Royal Guard to get here?" Draco asked.

"Who knows? Maybe twenty-eight days, twenty-eight weeks…" Alan stopped.

Draco stared at him, and looked disappointed. "What's with the twenty-eights?"

"I gotta make as many references as I can…" Alan said, looking to the Barrier again.

Draco groaned in annoyance. "Just… just… fuck this fourth wall shit…" he said.

**WOW! Fluttershy has a dark secret already, tensions are increasing in the cellar, and their seems to be increasingly intelligent zombie types... is that a good thing or bad thing? Will the survivors in the cellar live among themselves peacefully and scavenge for supplies? Will Fluttershy survive this apocalypse alone? Will anymore references to zombie films be made? And, will the return of an old character mark the end of any other survivors in the desolate town? Find out next week!**


	5. The Return

**Hey, everyone! Posting a new chapter of the ****_Undead_****! So we have two survivor groups, but that may very well change after the reintroduction of a formerly deceased character. It may very well ensure the end of our survivors, but it could possibly lead to something deeper. What'll happen then to the survivors? Find out now!**

**Side Note: Judging by the name of this chapter, try and guess what film this chapter's a reference to. I just had to add as many as I could, mainly as a shout out to zombie media. Hope you can find most of them!**

Somewhere on the outskirts of town, just inside the cemetery, the ironic silence was broken by a loud crash. The source was not clear, until the crash came again. The sound had come from Leon's mausoleum. The crash came again, and the door to the mausoleum cracked. The bang came one last time, and the door broke down.

From the dust, a figure walked out of the grave. The figure was large and menacing, with a long, flowing, black and yellow mane that remained groomed. He bore the mark of a Phoenix on his flank, and he stood tall. The figure's eyes were a dim yellow, no longer the vibrant gold that they had always been. "Guess… who's… back?" the figure said in a hoarse, menacing, and deep voice. Leon had walked out of the grave very clean in appearance, but still dead, and immediately was filled with thoughts of hunger. He looked around, growling, looking for a meal. He saw a sandwich on the ground, and picked it up hungrily. He proceeded to eat it, until he was interrupted by a hoof that had punched him.

He flew back, along with the sandwich, from the recoil of the punch. He got up quickly, and looked with fury at the attacker. He saw a pony; disemboweled, rotting, and covered in peeling flesh in places all over the body. He was tormented by a constant plague of flies that buzzed loudly near him. It began gnashing its blackened teeth together, making a cracking noise. "My… food…!" it said. Leon got up angrily, and tackled the pony to the ground.

"No… mine!" he replied angrily with a growl. He punched the pony in the face, sending a stream of black blood flying from it. The Shambler recovered quickly, and kicked him back, scoring a direct hit on Leon's midsection. Leon, not going to give up his meal, ran towards the Shambler and used his wings to throw the Shambler to the side, near the edge of the cemetery, crashing into the brambles nearby. He then ran over to the Shambler, and proceeded to crush his skull. The Shambler acted quickly, and pulled on Leon's leg. Leon fell, and the Shambler dragged him through the swamp near the cemetery. Leon struggled and got himself free, and they both fought in the heavy and black tar.

Leon used his wings again, not for the flying he always used to perform, but to end the Shambler. He successfully grasped the Shambler's neck, but it was still fighting. He used his hooves to repeatedly punch the Shambler, and grabbed the Shambler's head with his wings yet again. He pulled without hesitation, struggling at first, and soon hearing a loud tearing noise. The Shambler's flesh tore slowly from its neck area, and Leon tore the Shambler's head from its body, sending more dark blood spurting out from its neck. The body collapsed in the tar and was quickly consumed by the swamp. Leon neighed in rage, and tossed the detached head in the tar as well, where it was swallowed by the muck. He left the swamp, exhausted and hungry.

He noticed he moved much slower now, because of the tar that covered him from head to hoof. He was covered in the greenish black tar, and his head was covered in a mix of tar and blood from the Shambler, giving it an orange appearance. He staggered towards the sandwich, and feasted on it noisily, stuffing the meal into his maw. He had never tasted anything better in his life. It was no doubt soothing to his hunger, and he devoured it in one bite. He sighed in satisfaction when he finished, and his appetite had been filled.

_That's much better. I can think clearly now…_ He processed a thought, surprisingly. He looked at himself, and found himself very filthy. "Don't care about that now," he said in his usual voice. The food provided him a way to remain much more equine now than he was mere seconds ago. A way to think, a way to speak, a way to act rationally, all of it possible with the satisfaction of his hunger. He tried to open his wings, but the tar on his coat had hardened, so instead he staggered slowly towards Ponyville, in hopes of seeing some old friends, at least for the moment. _Maybe I can see them again… Alan… Chloe… Orion… friends…_ he processed. He then headed towards Ponyville slowly.

…

Fluttershy was busy tending to the other animals inside her house, when she saw a figure in the distance. She glanced out the window, and saw a single, bedraggled, Shambler coming her way. She panicked, and yelled at the top of her lungs, which only sounded like the mewing of a cat. She grabbed from inside her house a couple of chains and some chickenfeed.

She saw that the Shambler was covered in some kind of black, sticky substance that hung off from all over his body, except for his head, and he reeked of rot and mold badly. His head was covered in an orange substance of some sort, and he appeared to have rotted and died long ago. She laid down some chickenfeed and ran to cover. The Shambler then stopped in front of it and stared at it questionably. "Fluttershy… where are you? It's me, Leon!" the Shambler called out.

Fluttershy, hearing that the pony called out her name, came out from cover. She approached it slowly, not knowing if it was a trick. She looked at the pony from head to hoof, and was disgusted by the appearance of Leon. "Leon? You can't be him. He's sleeping in the cemetery," she said calmly. "I think I'll call you… Tar Pony! It suits you very well."

"Fluttershy, it is me! I'm just covered in tar," he pleaded. "I have to tell you something before I get hungry again; where is every pony? Where's Alan? I want to see him again."

"Alan? It really is you, Leon!" she said gleefully. She hugged him, but he pushed her back.

"Not too close, Fluttershy. I'm starting to get hungry, and I don't wanna be calling out 'brains… live brains' over and over again like the Tarman that I know... Can I have some of that chickenfeed?" he asked. He began to growl a bit, and he was starting to lose control over himself to something he could not explain.

"Of course you can. I laid it out just for you. In fact, that's all you ponies seem to want. Something to eat," she said.

"How did you know?" Tar Pony asked, eating the chickenfeed as if there was no tomorrow.

"I… I have some ponies inside my shed that are like you. They seem really nice after they've eaten, but they're still talking with that deep voice. I want to help them, but they're too dangerous," Fluttershy said.

Tar Pony stopped eating the feed, his appetite and stomach filled again with food. He thought rationally again, and he spoke intelectually. "I found something else out. The ponies fight each other for food, so they may kill each other off if there's a shortage and nothing is available. I hope you have enough chickenfeed for all of them."

Fluttershy realized there was something different between Leon and the others in the shed, and the undead that roamed the streets of the nearby town. They seemed to speak, think, and act perfectly. He was dead before, but acted as if he had just woken up. Though he was covered in muck and grime, he was still the same old Leon that Fluttershy knew before. _What makes him different?_ She wondered. "How do you do that, Leon? You seem to have the exact same lifestyle as before, except you were gone for three years…" she trailed off.

"I realized this as well... did you say three years!?" He said, surprised he had been dead for quite a while. "That's… what could have happened in three years...? Anyways, I still have the one weakness all the other ponies have; hunger. It brings us pain, and if we don't eat, we rely on our primal instincts to get food. Unfortunately, these instincts promote the killing and eating of other ponies. Like me… I... I murdered another one of those ponies in a struggle for food." He looked down, ashamed of himself.

"It wasn't a live pony, was it?" Fluttershy asked.

"No… the pony was a Rotter…" he said. An idea suddenly popped into his head. "Fluttershy, is Twilight still at her library?" Tar Pony asked, not knowing of Twilight's transformation into an Alicorn.

"Oh… um… she's at Canterlot. She's a princess now," Fluttershy explained.

"Oh… well, congratulations? What about Doc… where is he?" Tar Pony asked.

She looked down, blushing as she did, and looked back up. "We're… it's… I can't explain it, but we help out in different ways. Doc just started the Centre for Disease Control in Canterlot, and found the cure for many diseases, including the Cutie Pox."

Leon looked confused. _Well, so much for being a test subject…_"Centre for Disease Control? That's perfect! You could send me as a test subject to them, and they could test me and find out what's wrong with me!" Leon exclaimed excitedly.

"That's a good idea! Hold on, let me take you to the others…" she said as she wrapped him in chains and walked him toward the shed.

_There needs to be a different name for ponies that are infected but have control over themselves…I got it! Control Freaks! So now we have the Shamblers, the Runners, and the Control Freaks._ Tar Pony smiled as he came up with the name for his new species.

She opened the door, while Tar Pony was staring at the sign posted nearby."Isn't that from…?" he stood with fear as Fluttershy dragged him into her shed. "No! Not the shed! You're gonna saw me in half!" he yelled in fear.

"What? Oh, no I would never do that," Fluttershy reassured him.

"No… I've seen you locked up in the loony bin because you kept a bunch of pelts here!" he accused.

"I'd never hurt any animals… where would you get an idea like that?" she asked.

"You're right… you're right…" Leon said shamefully, wiping a disturbing thought from his head.

They both entered the shed, and Leon saw how nicely it was decorated, and how full of gardening supplies it was. He also noticed three other ponies sitting and chatting casually. "Well, I think the bite isn't as visible as it was yesterday, dear," Rarity said.

"Ponies! We got another visitor!" Pinkie said excitedly.

Rarity saw how filthy Tar Pony was, and she backed away in disgust. "OH! GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!" she said desperately, cowering.

"It's OK, he's good. It's Leon, back after three years," Fluttershy said.

"Nope!" Big Macintosh said.

"Is he under all that dirt and stuff!? Is he playing hide and seek!? I wanna play too!" Pinkie said excitedly, and began counting from one to a hundred.

"Yes, he is. He's going to help you all get better by making you pony again!" Fluttershy squealed with delight.

"Help us, Fluttershy? How in the world will he do that if he can't even clean himself?" Rarity accused.

"Yep, same old Rarity, dead but unchanged. Have you seen any pony else around town, like Rainbow or Derpy?" Leon asked.

"No, dear, I haven't," Rarity confessed.

"I haven't seen her around either. They must be in Cloudsdale, along with Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy said.

"Well, is any pony else still around?" Tar Pony asked worriedly.

Fluttershy shook her head sadly, and Leon looked down sadly onto the floor. A thought appeared in Leon's head, and he started tearing up. Fluttershy had finished tying the chains to the wall, and asked Leon what was wrong.

"Alan… Draco… Chloe… what happened to them?" he continued to sob, his emotions getting to him, hoping they were all right. _What happened when I was gone?_

**Well, another zombie type has been brought up. We now have the Shamblers, the Runners, and the Control Freaks. It seems that there is a way to treat the infected Runners and make them Control Freaks, but is their temporary intelligence when their appetite is fulfilled a good thing, or can it be used against themselves and the other survivors? How will Leon take what has happened to the town? What will our other survivor group do to survive? And can the situation get any worse than it already is? Sorry, but you'll have to wait till next week to find out! Later!**


	6. The Land

**Back with our survivors at Sweet Apple Acres, the situation seems to be under control for now. What'll happen to the survivors, though, when one measly problem becomes a huge controversy between themselves? Will the undead take advantage of this squabble and strike when the time is right? Find out now!**

**Side Note: Again, more references will be made! See if you can guess more of those awkward, ironic, or terrifying situations that the survivors seem to be reliving as homages.**

Draco exited the cellar and went into the house. He was asked by Applejack to fetch some apples from the outside for the foals, and he did so without hesitation. He headed outside through the front door of the farmhouse, and went to go pick apples for the group. He had two baskets with him, and headed to the first tree he saw. "OK, first climb up, check the apples, and then climb down," he told himself. He readied his claws, and grasped the tree with both hands. He then expertly climbed up the tree in no time at all. He sat down on one of the branches, and began picking apples.

He never knew how, but he could tell when any food was fresh enough to eat, when food had contaminants, and when food had molded or rotted. He picked a couple of apples with his hands, and threw many into the baskets below while he threw the rotten ones away elsewhere. He continued to pick until the tree was empty of apples, and so he climbed down. He had not even filled half of the first basket, and groaned. He dragged the baskets to the next tree, and climbed up again. He repeated the process until the first basket was filled.

He grinned with satisfaction, and dragged that basket into the farmhouse, setting it down in the kitchen. He went out again to fill up the second basket, and he climbed up another apple tree. He dropped many apples into the second basket, enough to fill it up from one tree. It was then that he heard rustling in the orchards, and he stopped moving. He listened very closely, wondering if he made that noise. The noise came again, followed by a loud crunching sound, and the noxious and haunting smell of decaying flesh and rot. _Oh, shit… not now!_ Draco thought. He dared not move, but he looked around to see where the Shambler was. He was frantically searching, until his eyes went wide with fear.

Not one, but two Runners had appeared below the tree he was hiding in, both of them plagued with a swarm of flies that constantly followed them. They began devouring the apples Draco had tossed. They made horrible crunching and gnawing noises as they ate, and they both were covered in some kind of tattered rags. Their eyes glowed a dark red for some reason, and when they ate, the glow subsided and a dull white had taken over their eyes. They seemed much more content after eating, and spoke. "This… feed us… for life!" one of them said in a distorted voice.

"No think so… only so many apples on ground… taste horrible… compared to brains," the other responded slowly.

"Mm… Brains… find any?" the first asked.

"No… many ponies… gone…" the other replied.

"That's why… eat apples…dipshit..." commented the first.

Draco remained absolutely still, paralyzed with the fear that stuck into his spine. Seemingly out of nowhere, a tortoise came flying in, with a propeller on his back and wearing a pair of flight goggles. He landed on top of the tree, where Draco was hiding. Draco stared at the tortoise, not wanting to make a sound. He looked down, and saw the Runners notice the noise, but not where Draco was hiding yet. They looked round the tree, and concluded it was nothing, so the two Runners continued eating.

The tortoise then looked up at Draco, and started to fly again, but bumped into Draco's head repeatedly. Draco was surprised at how stupid this tortoise was, and how it wasn't dead yet. Finally, he had enough, and Draco grabbed the tortoise and switched the propeller off. He sighed in relief, and looked down. He saw that the two Runners were staring up now, right back at Draco. There was an awkward moment of silence as Draco and the Runners stared at each other.

"Uh… hi?" Draco said.

"Whassup?" asked the first one casually.

The other one then began to climb the tree in hopes of a meal. Draco, now terrified and moving, acted quickly. He turned on the propeller to the tortoise's propeller, and readied it to be used. The second Runner was almost up now, and Draco jumped out of the tree and flew down safely using the tortoise's propeller. He landed in the clearing near the barn, and saw the first Runner chasing after him. The other was trapped in the tree, and couldn't figure out how to get down.

The first ran rapidly towards Draco, and he switched the propeller on. The first was now close enough, and Draco slashed upwards with the tortoise's spinning propeller, making a huge slice into the Runner's face, revealing a deep gash inside the cranium that revealed the Runner's damaged brain. Blood squirted from the wound, and landed on Draco, giving off an almost rusty metallic smell. The Runner then fell over as it was still sprinting, and its body tumbled over and over onto the dirt. It twitched a bit before it died off for good. Blood still seeped from the corpse, forming a pool of it around the forehead.

The other was still stuck in the tree, and was contemplating ways to climb down. Draco laughed heartily at the Runner, and taunted it. "Man, that other Runner was right! You are a dipshit!" Draco began to drag the second basket of apples inside the farmhouse, along with the tortoise. The other Runner, not going to let getting humiliated by a meal go, jumped down from the tree and landed perfectly on his hooves.

He then began running towards Draco, who was now leaving the basket and tortoise in the farmhouse. Draco turned around in shock and ran away from the farmhouse. He led the Runner towards the barn, where he hid inside. He hid up on the rafters, and looked for something to defend himself with, as he was out of fire at the moment. He found the closest thing to a weapon that was available; a shovel. He took it quickly, and held onto it tightly. He heard the slow movements that the Runner was making to find him. He took a deep breath, but then he heard the barn door open again. "Hello? Is any pony here?" a familiar voice rang.

Draco realized that it was Sweetie Belle, and knew she was in immediate danger from the Runner. "Oh, shit!" he whispered to himself. He came out of his hiding place, and yelled. "Sweetie Belle, run!" he shouted out. The Runner then saw both Sweetie Belle and Draco, and pondered who he should eat first. He started to walk towards Sweetie Belle, who was now backing away. She whimpered in fear, and backed away slowly. "Hurry! Climb up the rafters!" Draco yelled.

Sweetie Belle ran quickly past the Runner, and began to climb the ladder up to the rafters quickly. The Runner sprinted after her, and began climbing the ladder as well. Sweetie Belle was now at the top of the rafters, while the Runner was close behind her. She saw no other way out of the rafters, and realized she was trapped. The Runner, having fully scaled the ladder, now closed in on her, and she considered her options quickly. She was about to jump off from the rafters to land in the hay down below, when the Runner grasped onto her and dragged her down the steps. She yelled at the top of her lungs, knowing this was it.

Draco then came out of the shadows, and whacked the Runner in the head. The Runner dropped Sweetie Belle, who fell down and landed hard on the floor of the barn below. Draco then whacked the Runner again, dropping him to the floor of the rafters. Draco lifted the spade of the shovel above the Runner's head, and pierced the Runner's skull with the spade, sending blood flying from it. Draco then began splitting the Runner's face in half, revealing the jagged, disgusting, broken jaw of the Runner, slowly oozing out dark red blood onto the rafters. The Runner then lay there, dead and mutilated. Draco released the shovel and then headed down the ladder quickly, and checked on Sweetie Belle.

She lay there, not moving at all. Draco checked her for any cuts or bruises, and fortunately found none. He lifted her up, and ran back to the farmhouse quickly. He entered the farmhouse, locked the door, and placed her on the sofa in the living room. He checked her for any signs of life, but could find none. _Oh, shit, don't die on me Sweetie Belle!_ He slowly backed away from her, and yelled out for help.

…

Applejack, Applebloom, Scootaloo, Alan, and Draco were all gazing at Sweetie Belle. Applejack checked for signs to see if she was still kicking, but could find none. She looked back at the others. "Well, there are only two possibilities: she's either in a coma, or… she's checked out for good," Applejack said miserably.

All of the other ponies gasped in shock and sadness when she said this. Applebloom and Scootaloo began tearing up and sobbing, while Alan wondered what would happen to her. "Draco, what happened to her?" he demanded.

Draco turned towards him. "Two Runners had chased me outside. I killed one, while the other followed me to the barn. For some reason, Sweetie Belle showed up and the Runner spotted her. She climbed up the rafters, and the Runner grabbed hold of her. I swung at him and killed him, but he dropped Sweetie Belle from the rafters," Draco stated disappointedly.

"The rafters? Why would she go over there? It's dangerous outside," Alan interrogated.

Upon hearing this, the two fillies began to cry even more. Applebloom turned to her sister, and told her why Sweetie Belle left. "We told her to head outside cause she said Scootaloo was chicken. We told her if she was so brave, she should help pick apples outside. She said she weren't afraid of nothing, and she left to help Draco. We… we're the ones that did this to her!" Applebloom confessed.

Applejack comforted her. "You didn't know this would happen. None of us did," she said.

"How could we do this? I... I... I don't know what to do. Sweetie Belle... please... pull through," Scootaloo pleaded.

The room was quiet now, and they all turned to Sweetie Belle, wondering if she would come back to consciousness all right or as one of them.

...

Just outside of the orchards, a single dead body lay still in streets, charred and darkened. The body made a slight twitch in its foreleg, and remained still. It moved again, this time moving its hind legs. The hind legs bent forward, and stood the body up. The forelegs, with trouble, stood up as well, albeit trembling a bit. The corpse was now standing up, and tried looking around. It couldn't see at all, and it felt around ground for a moment. "Hey, who turned out the lights?" it said in an almost mechanical voice.

The corpse stumbled around for a bit, until it felt something on its hooves. It repeatedly touched this strange object, trying to identify what it was. It felt warm, wet, thick. The corpse sniffed to identify it, but all that it could smell was its burnt skin. The corpse then stumbled away towards the park in the center of town, where it continued blindly staggering until it tripped over something, and was completely consumed in something cold and wet. The char and soot around the body washed away from the corpse, and it could finally open its eyes. It looked around, and noticed it was in water. The corpse swam up to the surface, and drifted to the bank of a river. It looked around, and noticed it was in the Ponyville Park. Something was different about it though.

The entire park was as it always was, full of ponies that roamed freely. What was different about it though was the ponies who inhabited it. Many were wandering the park with much of their skin peeling off. Many of the undead ponies eyes were glowing red. Some had bites and tears on their bodies, and some even displayed skeleton where flesh once was, and all the while each of the ponies were plagued by a constant torrent of flies buzzing near them. The burned corpse stood up, and felt a sharp pain on its maw. It looked down on it, and saw that the jaw was being held on one side by the few strands of tendons that remained. The charred pony shrieked in pain and fear, and the other ponies turned towards him.

They slowly advance towards him, and surrounded him completely. He was still shrieking in pain, and he looked around, noticing the ponies had now encased him. One of them walked up to him and tore off his jaw, releasing the remaining blood he had left in his mouth. He shrieked a high-pitched yell, and his tongue was now hanging down from the open maw. The ponies then began to file behind him, almost as though they were following him. The charred pony was still suffering in his agony. _It... hurts... but not as bad... as I thought it would..._ he processed. _Look at these stubs... my tongue... it was all because... of that... dragon! I'll find him... I know I will!_ He then began to head outside the park, where he growled intensely all the while, with only vengeance and a meal on his mind. _Lead... on..._ he kept on thinking to himself. The rebel without a pulse was leading some Shamblers and Runners behind him, and he slowly made his way through the town, looking for the "dragon" that charred him.

**Mother of Celestia... the group has Sweetie Belle in a coma, and that's not the worst of it. The zombies now seem to be forming a large group, and the ringleader, the charred pony, has a set goal on his mind. Will Sweetie Belle pull through? Will the group experience more loss? Will the charred pony find the ponies in their sanctuary? And, will our survivors learn to keep control at the risk of an all-out war amongst themselves as well as the undead? Find out next week!**

**One more thing! Can any of you come up with a good name for our charred pony, please? Either review or PM me, and if you do see the name you submitted chosen, I'll gladly give you props and credit for coming up with it! Thank you all for reading my story so far, and have a great time reading it next week!**


	7. Not So Different

**So, I take it some of you wanted to know how the plague spreads... that will be explained... in due time. Back with Fluttershy and the Runners at the shed, Tar Pony will seek the answers to how the Runners spread, and will be surprised at what he finds out. What does he learn? Will the Control Freaks lose their sanity and become Runners again? Find out now!**

It was nighttime now, and Fluttershy had went out again to feed the four ponies in her shed. She entered, and as she did, she greeted them. Their only response was to growl and moan in the fashion Runners did, and she poured the chicken feed into the feeding trays. The Runners rushed to them, and began eating to their heart's content. Their eyes, formerly glowing a blood red, now returned to their usual colors, and they became Control Freaks again. "Oops... I... I wasn't growling! I had a cough in my throat," Rarity said in her normal voice.

"So, how did you all get infected and become Control Freaks?" Tar Pony asked the other Control Freaks.

"Well, I was in the Carousel Boutique working, as usual, when Pinkie Pie came in. She asked for some party drapes, curtains, the usual. Behind her, though, entered another pony. He looked pale, so Pinkie and I went to help him. He then collapsed on the ground, and we shook him to get up. He stood up, but he didn't feel quite right, as he spoke. Then his eyes turned a bright red, he began to growl, and he bit into me," Rarity explained.

"Then, Rarity and I shoved him out of the shop. She said she was all right, and the bite wasn't deep, so we ignored it. After Rarity brought me my supplies, she had a spasm of some sort before she fell over too! She stood back up, and her eyes turned red too! She started growling and stuff, like this!" Pinkie then made strange growling noises as she made weird faces, moving her jaw left and right, up and down. "She then bit into me, and I ran out with my supplies. I headed back to Sugarcube Corner, and then... I can't remember anything after that," Pinkie explained.

"In fact, I never remembered nibbling on Pinkie. I don't even know how I ended up here," Rarity stated.

"Me neither, until Fluttershy told us that she found us eating garbage!" Pinkie stated excitedly.

Tar Pony nodded in conception. _So, the bites spread the disease... how original. And... they don't seem to remember anything after being bitten... until they ended up here._ He turned to Big Macintosh. "What about you, Big Mac? I don't see any bite marks on you."

"Well, all I can remember is working in the orchards when some branch clonked my head. I then woke up a while later, saw the branch that fell on me, and then... I don't remember the rest. I don't even remember eating Fluttershy's hen," Big Macintosh explained a bit shamefully. Leon then noticed that Big Macintosh did have a large cut on his head, but other than that no bite wounds. Tar Pony became confused, and wondered how Big Mac became a Runner.

"What about you, dear? How did you become..." Rarity paused as she waved her hoof and waved it in disgust at Tar Pony, "that... thing?" Rarity finished.

"I woke up... somehow. I broke out of my mausoleum and headed to town. I... I passed by the cottage, and Fluttershy fed me and led me in here," Tar Pony explained. He then turned to Fluttershy. "So, Fluttershy, what's the plan on getting to Canterlot?" Tar Pony asked.

Fluttershy kicked the ground with her foreleg for a few seconds before answering. "I... I haven't come up with one yet. What I wanted to do was see if any pony was still in town..."

"Regular ponies or more of us?" Tar Pony asked.

"Oh, no! I couldn't invite anymore! You might start fighting with each other, and we don't want that. Regular ponies need help too. Could you help me find them, since you're... Tar Pony?" Fluttershy said.

"Hmm... they might be frightened to see me… and I really like how awesome I look," Tar Pony said.

"Well, all you have to do is help me find them, and then I'll see what I can help them with," Fluttershy said.

"Um… OK. Where do we go first?" Tar Pony asked.

"We should head to the library," Fluttershy suggested.

"All right... let's get going," Tar Pony said as he was led outside by Fluttershy, still tied in chains.

…

They soon reached town square, which was destroyed, empty, and ransacked. Fires still danced in the abandoned shops, illuminating the night with bright orange glows specked throughout town. There was much devastation, and skeletons picked clean of flesh and surrounded by dried pools of blood lay on the streets, positioned as though the original pony had tried to escape their slow and painful death, swarmed with flies and crawlers. "My god… all this… was caused by some ponies?" Tar Pony asked sadly.

Fluttershy looked at the scene with tears in her eyes. She began to whimper, but Leon stopped her by holding her closely. "Listen, Fluttershy, we'll find some ponies in town... trust me." She looked up at him, and nodded. He smiled, and let her go, and she stopped sniffling, though tears still lingered in her eyes.

They both heard a flapping sound, as though a Pegasus were flying overhead. Fluttershy looked up, and saw a gray shadow flying in the night sky. The shadowed silhouette swooped low and finally tackled Tar Pony. "Hi, Fluttershy! There's a monster following you!" the silhouette called out, standing on top of Tar Pony. In the blaze of the flames, her identity was revealed; it was Derpy Hooves, smiling as innocently as she always was.

"Oh! Hello, Derpy! What brings you here?" Fluttershy asked.

Leon was surprised to note how casually they were speaking considering the circumstances, and he shook his head in disapproval. "I saw this pony next to you, and was going to save you, but he didn't attack. So he must be a muffin eater like me!" Derpy said excitedly. "What's their name?"

"He's Tar Pony. He's one of them, but after giving him tender care, he's learned to be nice," Fluttershy said, nudging Leon's head. He was still trapped underneath Derpy, and he groaned in dissatisfaction.

"Derpy? How did you avoid the attacks from the ponies?" Tar Pony asked.

"Who, me? Um… I guess cause I can fly, hello?" she said, looking down as she opened and flapped her wings.

"Where is every pony? Where's my son, where's Draco, where's…" Derpy stopped Tar Pony with her hoof.

"I don't know who your son is, Draco is somewhere in Sweet Apple Acres, and every pony else is… well… gone…" she said sadly. Her eyes now watered, and she began to look away from Tar Pony. "I've… I've been looking for my little muffin, Dinky." She began to sob, and couldn't stop, as her love and affection took a strong grasp at her heart painfully. "I can't find her anywhere! I looked in the house, the library, and even under each pot, plate, pan, and paint can, but she wasn't under any of them!"

Leon looked up at her with sad eyes, and began to tear up as well. "Alan… did you see him with Draco?" Leon asked.

Derpy shook her head. "No, I only saw Draco attacked by two of your kind… and chased into a barn… I didn't stay after that," she admitted sadly.

Leon thought for a moment. _Sweet Apple Acres… I need to check over there, see if Draco and Alan are there... and all right._ "Derpy, we're going to head to Sweet Apple Acres... will you join us?" Tar Pony asked.

"No... NO! Not with you, you dirty, smelly, innocent-muffin eater! Where's my little muffin!? Where is Dinky!?" she said as she struck Leon repeatedly with her hooves. She was now furious, and Tar Pony tried to block as many of her strikes as she could.

"Ow... hey... quit it! I'm not... a... muffin... or... bloody... cupcake eater!" Tar Pony pleaded to her. "Stop... stop... stop hitting me!"

"Derpy, don't! It's Leon… he's just really… messy…" Fluttershy said.

Derpy looked shocked at Fluttershy, then down to Tar Pony. She got off of him, and helped him up. "Leon… is it really you?" she asked.

"The one and only, dead for… how long, Fluttershy?" he asked.

"Three years," she responded.

"Leon... it is you!" Derpy said happily, hugging him. "I'm sorry for hitting you… of course I'll help you find Alan!" she exclaimed. They then all left for Sweet Apple Acres in search of Alan and Draco.

…

Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were down in the cellar. Scootaloo was sniffling as she covered her face with her hooves, and Rainbow was attempting to comfort her and feed her tortoise at the same time. Alan and Draco were outside, keeping watch for any more Shamblers or Runners. Applejack and Applebloom were in the bedrooms, tending to Sweetie Belle. Eric and Dinky fetched supplies from the kitchen to bring up to Sweetie Belle's aid.

From outside, a shouting came. "Um… Applejack… I... I think I see two Pegasi coming this way…" Alan said, as he couldn't tell easily since it was now dusk.

Applejack looked out the window of the bedroom, and saw the silhouettes as well against the burning glow of the fires from the town. "Hold on… don't draw attention yet…" she said.

Alan and Draco stood still, and the ponies continued to come. There then came another pony, covered up in darkness, following the two. "There's another one!" Draco yelled.

Applejack went to the living room, grabbed the shotgun, and headed out. She joined Alan and Draco, who were now armed with a shovel and a hoe. She looked at the ponies, and recognized one of them as they drew nearer. "Oh, no… they… they got Fluttershy!" Applejack announced, shocked and brokenhearted.

Alan and Draco stood shocked, and recognized the other Pegasus. "Derpy… she's one of them as well," Alan said sadly.

"Hey! Applejack! Whoo-hoo!" Derpy said.

"Wait... that... that is Derpy! It's really her!" Alan said excitedly.

The Pegasi now entered the clearing, and trotted to Applejack. "Stay back or I'll blow y'all to kingdom come!" Applejack warned, sadness in her voice.

"Applejack, you shouldn't point things at ponies you know," Fluttershy scolded.

"Fluttershy? It really is you!" Applejack said with glee. She lowered the gun, and then raised it again as she saw Tar Pony. "As for y'all, ya can say hello to my little friend!" she said, and aimed the gun at Tar Pony's forehead.

"Applejack, no! He's very friendly, and he wouldn't harm a fly," Fluttershy reassured.

"What's with him being one of 'em then?" Applejack asked impatiently, ready to pump some buckshot into Tar Pony.

"Trust me; he's not like the others. He's got a heart," Fluttershy reassured.

Applejack considered that for a moment, and slowly lowered the gun. "Alright then, I'll leave it be, since you trust it. But he does one thing wrong, consider his head blown off like the gasket on our tractor," Applejack said threateningly.

"Wait, Applejack! You're just letting this thing stay here!?" Alan asked as he followed Applejack to the farmhouse. Tar Pony had seen Alan, and couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. The relief turned to sadness as Alan spoke his mind about Tar Pony.

She turned to leave with Alan and Draco, and Tar Pony turned on Fluttershy. "Why didn't you tell her who I was? Now she's aiming a loaded gun to my head! And what's worse, my son sees me as some sort of monster!" Tar Pony accused.

"I'm sorry, but until we find a way to help you, you're not Leon. That's why you're technically considered Tar Pony…" Fluttershy said.

"Well… but… ah, fuck. Well, can we go into the house? Will I be safe?" Tar Pony said.

"Yes, as long as you behave yourself. Let's see who else is inside." The three ponies then walked into the farmhouse, and shut the door behind them.

…

As soon as Tar Pony walked into the house first, Dinky and Eric both dropped what they were holding and ran away screaming to the cellar. Applejack walked down the stairs, and tied the chains Fluttershy held to the staircase. "So he doesn't get any ideas…" she said.

"Are you serious? I'm not… well, I am one of them… but I'm not as mindless as them!" Leon stated.

"So you can speak? Well, I don't wanna take the risk, seeing as you're more dangerous than the others," she was interrupted by the sound of steps, and Rainbow Dash came inside the room.

"You might wanna watch out, the foals said there's…" she turned to where Tar Pony stood, and her eyes went wide with fear. "A monster!" she yelled out. She ran back down the steps, and left the mares and Tar Pony in the dust.

"Is this how they all see me... as… a monster? I... I may be grotesque in appearance... but I'm still the same as I was before," Leon said, sitting down miserably and lowering his ears.

Fluttershy and Derpy couldn't help but feel sorry for him. "Ya haven't eaten any ponies, have ya?" Applejack asked doubtfully.

"No… I can eat regular food… but to be thought only as an abomination? That's a fate worse than death…" He scoffed afterwards. "Even worse… I am dead…" he said miserably.

They all thought about it, and Fluttershy and Applejack unchained him. He looked up at them, and they smiled. He smiled back at them. "Thank you… very much... you don't know how much this means to me." His stomach began to growl, and he knew he was getting hungry. "Is there anything to eat? I'm starting to get hungry…" he said.

"Well, there are always apples for a good meal!" Applejack said happily.

"Anything other than brains sounds good right about now," Tar Pony said.

"You know what? I think you're as equine as we are, no matter what the others say," Applejack said confidently. "In fact, you remind me of a certain pony that lived here before… but he's gone now," she said sadly.

_So they don't know who I am yet? Maybe Fluttershy is right… I'm technically not a pony anymore, but that doesn't mean I haven't acted equine since I stood up. Maybe there is a way for me to become pony again… _Leon thought with hope on his mind.

**Wow... Tar Pony has never been so close, yet so far from his son in three years, and now Alan's staying as far away from him as possible. Will Leon become equine? Will the others trust Leon? Will they somehow plot to kill him? And, is the farm safe from the undead threat of the charred pony? Find out next week, everyone!**

**Side Note: Still taking names for our charred pony, and will post his name on next week's chapter! Review or PM me your suggested name! Also, got any references in this chapter? Hope you did! Also, the rating WILL change to an M rating next chapter. Thanks for reading, and see y'all next week!**


	8. Cut Short

**Two chapters back, I asked all of you readers to suggest a name for our charred pony. The winning suggested name I chose was...**

**WESKER!**

**This name, as suggested by user Bluemane, will now be used from here on in to identify our charred pony. Thank you very much, Bluemane, and thank you all for reading the story so far.**

**Every pony is at the farm now. Tar Pony finds his son, but he can't prove to him that he is really his father. Plus, with his disgusting appearance right now, he's become a target for others in the group. What will happen to him? How will he prove to Alan that he has returned? And, is the group totally safe from the undead forces? Find out now!**

The charred pony and his horde of Runners and Shamblers were traversing through the town, when he stopped. The other ponies, unaware of his sudden stop, continued lurching forward. The charred pony, however, looked carefully onto the ground. He blinked his blood red eyes constantly, and saw some kind of hoof prints on the ground. Intrigued, he slowly followed the trail, and the Shamblers looked on in both blankness and fascination. He followed the trail until he came across an apple on the ground. He picked it up, and knew it would curb his hunger. He devoured it noisily, and felt a sensation he hadn't felt before. Something had changed inside him, and he somehow became conscious of where he was. His eyes stopped glowing red, and his head began to flood with memories and knowledge.

_My name... Wesker... CONNECT... I'm... I'm a unicorn... CONNECT... Unicorns can use magic... CONNECT... magic, like teleportation... CONNECT... I... I can use this power... CONNECT... I can use these ponies... CONNECT... no, I could use their appetite to control them... CONNECT... control them... to do my bidding! Yes... wipe out the ones still alive... and take over... with an army... at my command!_

Wesker smiled dementedly, and turned to the Runners and Shamblers behind him. They all stared and gazed at him with their dark, glowing red eyes. He turned back to the prints on the ground, now aware what they were and why they were there. He followed the trail, and it suddenly stopped. He looked forward towards a forest of apple trees, with a dirt road leading through the middle towards a farmhouse in the distance. He grinned in satisfaction, though it didn't look like a grin with his lower jaw severed off. He turned to the Runners and Shamblers, and used his magic to send a message into each of their heads. He thought to them: _All of you... eat the apples from the trees. It will satisfy your hunger at the moment... and when it does... follow me... into that building._

Almost by command, the Shamblers and Runners ambushed the trees, eating anything and everything around them. All that could be heard were the moans of the undead, followed by the loud crunching and gnawing noises from consuming their fill. After a few minutes, all the noise suddenly stopped, and the undead returned to Wesker. Their eyes stopped glowing red, and each of their eyes returned to the color they were before. They all seemed somehow more aware of their surroundings, and they stood in formation in front of Wesker. One of the Runners approached Wesker. "Whenever you are ready... we will attack... and feast!" he announced.

Wesker nodded, and knew he had their full support of the undead now.

_..._

Tar Pony was busy sitting and eating apples very calmly on the floor, when Rainbow Dash and the militia of foals, armored with pots and pans and wielding blades, charged at him. "What the...!?" Tar Pony said in shock before they knocked him over. They each used ropes to tie him up, and all of them pointed their bladed weapons at him.

Rainbow Dash turned towards Applejack. "We got him! What should we do with him?" she asked.

"Hey, Skittles… GET THE FUCK OFF ME!" Tar Pony yelled.

Rainbow Dash's only response was to whack him in the face with the blunt edge of a machete she held in her wing. "Shut up or your head will get cut off next!" she warned angrily.

"Rainbow Dash, get off of him! He's not like the others… he's more equine than we once thought…" Applejack admitted.

"No way! What if he tries to eat us when we sleep?" Rainbow Dash argued.

"Rainbow, get off of him!" Applejack ordered sternly.

Rainbow Dash reluctantly got off, but not without a warning. "You even get near me or any of these ponies…" She then slashed the apples he had dropped on the floor in half. She then walked down into the cellar.

Dinky, seeing her mother again, ran up to her. "Mom! Mom! Oh, thank goodness you're safe!"

Derpy, noticing her daughter, ran up to her as well. "Dinky! My... my little muffin! You're safe, too!" They both embraced each other, and shed tears. A moment such as this was not to be taken lightly, and they couldn't believe they saw each other in good health. "Dinky, you didn't know how worried I was! Where were you?" Derpy demanded.

"I was in the library, until Alan and Draco saved us! Then we ran back here! I was wondering where you were!" Dinky sniffled, looking up with tears in her eyes.

"I looked for you everywhere, even under the plates!" Derpy said sincerely, and the others looked at her with confusion.

"Mom! You know I wouldn't be hiding under plates!" Dinky scolded, still embracing Derpy.

"You never know, Dinky! You're wearing a pot right now!" Derpy pointed out, motioning to the pot Dinky wore as a helmet. She nodded in conception, and apologized for her thoughtlessness.

"Excuse me, Dinky… where are Alan and Draco?" Tar Pony asked.

She turned to the Shambler, lowered her head and ears, and whimpered softly. Derpy reassured her that he was friendly, and Dinky answered him nervously. "They're... they're down in the cellar."

Leon looked at himself, and knew he couldn't use magic or flying to prove his identity. Tar was very difficult to wash off, and he was going to be stuck as Tar Pony for some time. "Can you bring them up? I need to speak with them."

She looked at her mother, who nodded in agreement. Dinky then went down, and after a few seconds, Alan and Draco came up, wearing their own set of makeshift armor. "OK, Applejack, what is this about?" Draco asked impatiently. They both tried to ignore the Tar Pony, but his rotten appearance and grotesque smell was standing out so much, that he couldn't be ignored. "Um… what… is… this… about?" Draco repeated more slowly, staring at Tar Pony.

"I called y'all up here to introduce you to Tar Pony! Be nice you two, he's very shy," Applejack said, teasing Tar Pony a bit, to which he glared at her.

"Um… Applejack?" Alan asked.

"Yes, Alan?" she responded, raising her eyebrow.

"Why are you keeping a Shambler in the house? More importantly, why is it not dead?" Alan asked.

Leon was hurt that his son wanted him dead, but then realized he didn't know it was really him. "You know, I can completely understand everything you say. That hurts," Tar Pony said sadly.

Draco looked with surprise at Tar Pony. "You heard that too, right Alan? He spoke perfectly?" asked Draco. Tar Pony noted his voice sounded extremely relaxed and laidback considering the circumstances.

"Draco, you sound stoned. You better not have been around Alan, or I swear I will kick your ass!" Tar Pony warned.

"Great… ten seconds in and the Shambler is already a fucking douchebag. Reminds me of…" Draco stopped for a moment, and face palmed himself. "Oh… wait a minute… Tar Pony, I may need to see you later, after I kick my own ass for a good thirty minutes," Draco said with the realization, heading down into the cellar.

Tar Pony then turned to Alan and approached him. Alan backed away in fear, lowered his ears, and was cornered by Tar Pony. "Um… you're getting too close… Applejack!" Alan yelled.

"Um… maybe now is not the best time, Tar Pony. Remember…?" Applejack said, indicating the muck that covered Leon from head to hoof.

"Oh, right… this isn't rotting flesh… it's tar!" he explained happily. Suddenly, his ears twitched a bit, and his eyes went wide, flashing red. "AH!" he shouted. "NO! Don't... don't come any closer! The pain… it… hurts! They're coming… for brains!"

Applejack, upon hearing this, grabbed the shotgun from the wall, and loaded it with two shells. "Who's coming? The Shamblers, the Runners… who is it?" she asked.

"AH!" Tar Pony said as he grasped his head and fell to the ground. "Lots of them… are crying out in bloodlust! It... hurts! I… I can't think right!" he said painfully. He got up, and slammed himself into the wall. He was groaning, neighing, whinnying, and shouting in pain, and he began to moan like a Shambler. "Brains… NO! Live… brains… NO! MUST… STAY… EQUINE! RESTRAIN ME! HURRY!" he yelled out.

Immediately, Fluttershy and Applejack tied Tar Pony up in the chain and tied the chains to the kitchen. Tar Pony was now lashing out everywhere, rearing up, bucking with his hind legs, and he looked at every pony with glass eyes. After a while, Tar Pony stopped thrashing, and sat down calmly. "They're… outside… calling for… blood…" he said calmly, not looking at them.

Applejack looked out the window, and saw that Tar Pony was correct. There were over twenty Shamblers grouped outside, and they all headed slowly towards the farmhouse. She loaded two shells into the shotgun, and readied herself. "Alan, get Rainbow Dash up here. Draco, get ready to rain down some fire. Fluttershy, Derpy, get the foals and when I tell you, leave through the other cellar door. Let's go!" she ordered.

All of the ponies, and dragon, did what they were told. Rainbow Dash came up armed with two machetes held in her wings, along with Alan, who had a circular saw. "What do you need us to do?" asked Rainbow.

"I need you to help me thin out their numbers. Alan, you stay down in the cellar, and listen to Fluttershy and Derpy," Applejack explained.

"What? No way! I'm gonna help out Rainbow Dash with the Shamblers!" he announced.

"That's not a request, Alan. Go down there, now!" Applejack ordered.

Alan reluctantly headed down the steps, but snuck back in when no pony noticed.

Rainbow Dash headed outside, and Tar Pony got Applejack's attention. "Applejack, let me go out there, too. I can… thin out… their numbers…" he said painfully.

"I don't know… weren't you just bucking like a bronco right now?" she asked.

"Yes, but it wasn't because of hunger. It was the cry of others that caused me to howl, and I need to end their bloodshed," he said sadly. In his previous life, Leon respected all life, and would always show mercy to his foes. Only when there was no other option would he reluctantly end a life, and even then he would regret doing so.

She thought about it. "OK, can't argue with ya there." Applejack untied Tar Pony, and he stumbled a bit before he stood upright. He then left outside as well, and joined Rainbow Dash in the defense of Sweet Apple Acres.

…

Tar Pony approached Rainbow Dash, and she raised one of her knives at him. "Back off, Tar! I thought I made it clear that you were dead if you got near me!" she warned him.

"Rainbow Dash, calm down! It's me… Leon. Remember me, when I first moved here, and we celebrated Derpy Day?" Tar Pony asked.

"What? Leon? How… how are you still alive?" she asked in disbelief.

"Technically, I'm not. But that doesn't mean I'm not as equine as I was, and what the pony inside me is saying is to help others, no matter the risk. Let me help you, Rainbow, so that your life is safe," Tar Pony pleaded.

She thought it over deeply, and then handed him a machete, and told him what happened the day before the spread. "Your son went to visit you. I felt bad for him, but it provided a sense of good memories. Did you happen to see him as yourself after so long?" she asked.

"No… he sees me as a monster… like all of you did," Leon said sadly. Tears shed from his eyes, and Rainbow Dash placed her hoof on his shoulder.

"You're not a monster… you're a hero to him... to all of us. He really misses you, he just doesn't know it's you," She then turned to the group of Shamblers, who were now waiting for them to finish. They stumbled towards them, and Rainbow pulled out the Walkman. "If we're gonna fight, we need some fighting music!" she announced. She turned on the Walkman, and "Partytime" began to play.

Leon, considering his appearance as Tar Pony and the song that played, looked to the Barrier. "I get it... I get it... just get on with it!" he said. He then turned towards the horde, and raised his knife. Both ponies charged yelling at the top of their lungs.

Tar Pony and Rainbow Dash began slashing at the Shamblers, and decapitated two of them on the spot. They then slashed back and forth, sending some limbs and heads flying away from their previous hosts. Tar Pony used his blade to pierce a Shambler through its eye, and pulled it out as the Shambler fell over bleeding. Rainbow used her blade to slash down on a Shambler's head, opening it widely and revealing the Shambler's inner skull and brain, which bled out profusely. She kicked the corpse away from her, where it lay forming a fresh pool of blood.

The two ponies then faced away from each other, but stood close together. The Shamblers encircled them, but Rainbow and Tar Pony anticipated this. She wrapped her wings with his, and they both stuck out their blades. They then began to spin incredibly fast, slashing many Shamblers and sending blood and gore flying in all directions. It was a bloodbath, sending a shower of blood onto the ground and into the air. Much of it landed on Rainbow and Tar, but they didn't mind at all.

The two continued to spin, until the blood stopped flying. They stopped spinning, and much of the Shamblers lay in a pile of dismembered limbs and organs, all in a giant pool of blood that flooded the ground. Blood dripped from both of the ponies and their blades, and the two turned to the next wave of Shamblers. Runners had now made their way into the clearing as well, but ran past the two ponies and went towards the farmhouse instead. The two ponies ignored the Runners, and focused on the next onslaught of Shamblers.

**The reason I changed the rating to M was because from this chapter onwards, everything gets extremely violent. Make sure to look under the M rating for it. Thanks for reading the chapter, and find out what happens to the group next week!**


	9. Losses

**OK, everyone, new chapter here! Recap... Tar Pony/Leon, Derpy, and Fluttershy made their way to the farm, Leon's still a zombie, he's become a prime target from the group, and Wesker and his undead forces found their way to the farm. Could things get any worse? Find out now!**

Applejack watched as Runners made their way to the farmhouse, and aimed the shotgun at them. She fired both shells, and dropped four Runners. Alan, now realizing how much trouble they were in, went up to the bedroom where Sweetie Belle was, and entered quickly. He went up to her, and shook her. "Come on, Sweetie Belle! Get up!" She didn't move, so he placed her on his back. He then left the room, went down the stairs, and entered the cellar.

Draco was busy on the roof shooting fireballs down on the Runners, hitting many of them. But there was just too many. They gathered at the front door, and started breaking into the farmhouse. Draco immediately climbed back into the house, and climbed down the stairs. Applejack saw him, and urged him to help her. "Come on, I need some help!" she yelled out. Draco then ran next to her, and started breathing out fire in a large stream, burning the Runners who were attempting to enter. They caught on fire, but none of them seemed to mind as the continued breaking the door into the house.

"It's no good! We need to fall back to the cellar!" Draco yelled out.

"NO! I ain't leaving this farm! It stayed since Ponyville was created, and it's gonna keep standing!" Applejack urged angrily.

"Applejack! This house isn't gonna last much longer! It's better to leave alive than dead!" Draco persuaded. She looked back at him sadly, and then nodded disappointedly. Before they left to the cellar, she brought with her a bottle of apple cider and a rag. They both headed down into the cellar, and locked themselves inside.

Every pony was waiting there, except for Rainbow Dash and Tar Pony. "Where's Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo asked worriedly.

"She's outside still slayin' them Shamblers with Tar. When I say so, leave the cellar through the other door. Then we head for Fluttershy's cottage, and stay until we decide what to do next. Sound like a plan?" Applejack asked.

They all spoke in agreement. "Applebloom, I need ya to help me empty the cider barrels," Applejack said.

"No problem, sis!" she said. They both went over to each barrel, and drained it of all of its contents. They proceeded to empty each barrel, until a banging was heard on the door to the house. "Almost got it…" Applebloom said, struggling with one of the barrels.

"Come on, let's get a move on!" Applejack ordered every pony. All of the ponies lined up at the other door to the cellar, which led to the barn outside. Applejack handed Draco the cider bottle with the rag sticking out of it. "When I say so, light that feller up and throw it against the wall inside the cellar," Applejack said. Derpy was carrying Sweetie Belle on her back, and was going to lead the charge outside.

Applebloom still struggled with the last barrel, until she finally got it loose. "I got it! I got it!" she cheered. The cider was now at waist level, and she drudged through the liquid slowly towards the exit. The door to the house broke down at that moment, and the Runners burst into the cellar, yelling and charging through the cider. They moved relatively easily through the cider, and were chasing down Applebloom. She screamed, and ran faster towards the group. The survivors then burst open the door to the outside of the farm, and started to leave. Applejack stayed behind to help out Applebloom, but one of the Runners caught up with Applebloom. The Runner dragged her back and bit into her flank, sending blood oozing slowly from Applebloom.

Applebloom screamed in pain, and Applejack used her powerful buck to kick the Runner in the head. "I don't think so!" She used her hind legs to smash the Runner, creating a loud cracking noise as his neck snapped. The Runner fell into the cider, dead and unmoving. Applejack then led Applebloom quickly out of the cellar, where Draco waited. "Now!" Applejack yelled. Draco set the rag on fire, and threw it into the cellar. The cellar lit up like a bonfire, lighting every Runner inside on fire, and cremating them slowly. All that could be heard in the now-burning cellar were agonizing screeches and wails.

The ponies all stared at the burning room, but then turned their attention to the whimpering Applebloom, who was now bleeding profusely from her wound. Applejack acted quickly, and bandaged Applebloom. "Come on, Applebloom. I got ya... I got ya." She had then placed Applebloom on her back, and took her and the entire group towards the clearing where Rainbow and Tar were waiting.

They were soaked in blood, and surrounded by the mutilated remains of the Shamblers. Intestines were strewn everywhere, limbs were scattered left and right, heads were piled next to each other, and blood was on the floor everywhere. They appeared to have finished off the horde, and saw Applebloom on Applejack's back. "What happened to Applebloom?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"She's hurt… badly. She got bit by one of them crazies," Applejack said worriedly. Tar Pony, upon hearing this, turned to Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy, we need to restrain her if she got bitten. That's how it spreads…" he reported quietly so the others could not hear.

Fluttershy nodded sadly, and led them all away from the carnage that lay in wake at Sweet Apple Acres. It was a massacre.

...

Wesker and two Runners remained in the farmhouse, the only three who made it out of the cellar before they were swallowed whole by the fire. Wesker and the two stood gazing at the fire in the cellar that had taken out most of the Runners, and he growled. _Fucking fire... _He yelled out in anger and punched into the wall, breaking a hole into it. _That goddamn dragon! Fire is going to be the end of all of us if we don't get him!_

He turned to one of the Runners, the same one who had spoke with Wesker before the attack. He used his horn to send a message to the Runner: _We will head back into town... and gather more... after eating our fill._ The Runner nodded, and Wesker turned to the window, viewing the fleeing ponies. _I will find you... dragon... and your pitiful group. I need to head back to town, and gather more... before we strike again._ Wesker sat on one of the couches in the farmhouse, contemplating how and where he would end these ponies that escaped him.

…

Fluttershy had led them all into her cottage, where she had promised she would care for Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. What she had actually done was chain Applebloom, who had passed away sometime after arriving, inside her shed, away from Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Big Macintosh. After feeding the ponies in the shed, she left outside and back into her cottage. She went into one of the rooms, and took Sweetie Belle's pulse. She looked back at the group with sad eyes, and shook her head slowly. They all were saddened by the fact, and began to sob. Fluttershy covered Sweetie Belle with the blanket, and led them all out of the room.

Sometime afterwards, there was a noise in the room Sweetie Belle was in, and Fluttershy went to investigate. She saw Sweetie Belle walking about in the room, and Fluttershy smiled. "Oh, Sweetie Belle! Thank goodness you're okay. I thought something terrible happened," Fluttershy said, relieved.

Sweetie Belle turned to her slowly, and gazed at Fluttershy. Her eyes flashed red, and she charged Fluttershy, yelling and shrieking. Fluttershy yelped, and left the room quickly, closing the door behind her. She went to the living room, where Tar Pony was. She dragged him to the door, and looked worried. "What's wrong, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy was trembling and whimpering. "It's Sweetie Belle... she... she... she's up!"

Tar Pony smiled. "She's OK, then? That's wonderful!" He entered the room, ignoring Fluttershy's silent cries of warning, and saw Sweetie Belle in front of a mirror in the room. She didn't move as he approached her. "Hey, Sweetie Belle! How you feeling?" Tar Pony asked.

She slowly turned to him, and glared at him with red eyes. She clenched her teeth, and growled softly. She began to stumble forwards, and Tar Pony understood what it meant. _But... how? She wasn't bitten... _Tar Pony thought. He looked around for something to defend himself, and found a stool. He took it and raised it towards Sweetie Belle, who was still trudging to Tar Pony. He used the stool to hold her back, where she reached outwards with her hooves, trying to reach Tar Pony. "Brains... Live brains..." she called out.

Fluttershy burst into the room, and carried with her chains and a burlap sack. She clenched the chains in her mouth, and swung them around in a lasso. She threw the lasso over Sweetie Belle, and tightened the chains. Sweetie Belle now collapsed on the floor, squirming and moaning. Fluttershy lifted the chains up, along with Sweetie Belle, and dropped her in the burlap sack. She then handed the sack to Tar Pony, who was dumbfounded at Fluttershy's expert handling of the situation.

"Um... could you take her to the shed... please?" Fluttershy asked.

Tar Pony simply nodded, and brought the wriggling sack down with him. He noticed that the other ponies were in the kitchen, so he passed by unnoticed. He went out the door, and went into the shed, trying to wonder how Sweetie Belle became a Runner. _According to Fluttershy, all that happened to her was a fall, not a bite. She was in a coma... and then she apparently passed. _He thought for a moment, and the horrible realization then came to him. _No... it... it can't be... any pony that dies... comes back... no matter if they were bitten or not. That's how Big Mac must have become one... as well as me... oh, Celestia. I need to let Fluttershy know._ He brought Sweetie Belle to one of the corners of the shed, the one Rarity was in. She greeted Tar Pony, while he turned sadly to her.

"Rarity... I have some bad news..." he said with hesitation.

"What is it!? Is my shop destroyed? Is it filled with those disgusting creatures?" she asked in horror.

He shook his head slowly. "No... it's much worse." He opened the sack, and revealed Sweetie Belle, who was still chained and wriggling. Rarity looked on in horror, and looked back at Tar Pony. She couldn't speak, couldn't act.

"As long as she's fed, she'll act like before... but she's one of us now." Tar Pony then left to bring Sweetie Belle food, and returned with chickenfeed. He dumped it into the feeding tray, and Sweetie Belle began to fill her ravenous hunger, chewing and crunching loudly. Tar Pony untied the chains wrapped around Sweetie Belle, and tied them again to the wall, allowing her a bit more freedom of movement.

"How... how did it happen?" Rarity asked in sadness after some time.

"Apparently, when any pony dies, they come back, no matter if they were bitten or not. That's how I think Big Mac became a Runner." As Tar Pony said this, Big Macintosh looked at Tar Pony, and now understood how he became undead. "I just don't know how that happens," Tar Pony admitted.

"So... she just... passed?" Rarity asked, tears in her eyes.

Tar Pony nodded. Sweetie Belle had stopped eating, and her eyes returned to their normal green color. "Rarity! You're OK! I... I didn't know what happened to you!" she said excitedly, hugging her sister. Rarity hugged her back, and Tar Pony left them in the shed. He returned to the cottage, and sat in the kitchen, along with every pony else.

"We've got to do something to get the Royal Guard to come," Draco said.

"No, the Royal Guard could solve this problem, but they'd be required to kill the infected. We need the CDC if we're gonna find a way to stop the spread," Tar Pony said.

"I agree…" Fluttershy said distantly. Tar noticed there was something different about her appearance. He discovered that her eyelids were getting much darker in color, even though she wasn't bitten anywhere.

"Fluttershy, are you doing all right? You seem to need some rest or something," Tar said.

"No… no. I'm fine… Just… stay outta my shed," she said. Tar Pony picked up on this, and thought Fluttershy was beginning to lose her sanity.

"Hey, Fluttershy, where's Applebloom?" Applejack asked.

"Oh… Applebloom… she's at the shed, fetching me some things," Fluttershy said nervously.

"Well that's good of her! She won't let one itty bite stop her," Applejack said.

"Tar Pony, could I see you for a moment?" Fluttershy asked.

"Sure, what is it?" he asked as she led him away from the group.

"They can't know about the shed. If Applejack finds out that both Big Macintosh and Applebloom are chained inside, she might get angry… please don't tell them about it," Fluttershy begged.

"I won't. As long as they don't know, both the infected and the ponies are safe. But you need to know that any pony that dies, no matter how, becomes one of them." He turned to look away, and Fluttershy looked and nodded at him sadly. "I know Alan and Draco are doing fine, but what about Chloe and Orion? Where are they?" Leon asked after some time.

"Chloe is back in your hometown, and Orion is in his. We'll find a way to help you, Leon. For now, we have to find a way to get Doc over here, and I think I know how," Fluttershy said.

"Go for it," Tar responded.

"OK... Rainbow Dash and Draco fly over to Canterlot. From there, they can get Doc and send in some ponies to cure them... I mean, if that's OK with them," Fluttershy said.

"That's good… but what about supplies and food?" Tar asked.

"For now, I've got plenty for you ponies... but for the other ponies, we'll need to go back into town to get more… but with all those monsters outside, we may not make it," Fluttershy said.

"You leave that to me. The infected don't seem to notice me, and I think I can bring food back and forth safely," Tar suggested.

"That's wonderful! You can help out the ponies! Oh, Leon, I know you're really inside all that muck!" she hugged him as she said this.

He hugged her back, and took with him some baskets and a saddlebag to bring the food back to the cottage. He exited the building, and headed slowly towards town. Fluttershy then returned back to the kitchen, and asked, "OK, who wants to help me feed the animals?"

…

Tar Pony entered the town to see many undead ponies roaming the streets, more than before, almost in an orderly fashion. He shambled towards one of the burning restaurants, and picked through the debris for any scrap or morsel of food. There was a refrigerator, lying relatively intact on the floor. Tar Pony ripped it out of its hinges, and saw a banquet, ready to be eaten. He took the food and placed it inside the saddlebag, filling one of two bags.

Satisfied, he headed to the next building, Sugarcube Corner. He entered the destroyed shop, and looked around for any food. He found the display racks emptied, and went to the back of the building, where the kitchen was. It was completely untouched by the Shamblers, and he went to the refrigerators. He opened one of them, and found it completely stocked with food. He filled the rest of the baskets and saddlebag with as much food as they could carry, and was finally packed with plenty of food. He turned to leave, until he heard a banging in one of the walk-in freezers.

Curious, he went over to the freezer, and peered through the small window on the door. It was completely fogged up, and Tar Pony grabbed the handle and pulled the door open. He walked in slowly, and looked around for the source of the banging. He could find nothing inside, so he turned to leave, only to find what caused the racket.

In front of him were the two Cake twins, Pound and Pumpkin, soaked in blood and devouring a corpse, ripping flesh and bone from it. He looked at the corpse closely, and identified it as that of Mr. Cake, one of the shop owners and father of the children. Disgusted, he gagged, and the two demons turned to him. They identified him as a Shambler, and continued feasting on the corpse. Tar Pony quickly left, and vomited on the floor of the shop. _OH… MY… CELESTIA! HOW… HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN!? THAT… WAS THE MOST DISTURBING AND WRONG THING I HAVE EVER SEEN! I…I…I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! _Tar Pony thought to himself.

He began losing his thoughts somehow, and he couldn't think much anymore. By vomiting on the ground, he had lost much of his lunch, and he became hungry, making his primal Runner instincts rear their ugly heads. He looked around for something to eat, anything to eat. He saw nothing around, and turned toward the corpse of Mr. Cake. Not anymore a disgusting display to Tar Pony, he slowly shambled over to the corpse, seeing it as a meal opportunity. He stared down at it, and notched his head to the side. _Food… NO! I…can't…give in! But it looks delicious…NO! GET... GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HEAD!_ Leon was not about to lose his equinity, but Tar Pony's hunger was steadily growing greater and greater. _What… what do I do?_

**Applebloom and Sweetie Belle are now dead. Fluttershy's beginning to lose it. Tar Pony's beginning to revert back to an undead freak. Wesker's undead forces in the town are getting organized. Everything that can turn out bad is turning out... well, bad! Will Leon remain equine? Will the group get the CDC to come? Will any pony find out about the shed and its residents? And, will Wesker's undead onslaught finish the job on what remains of the group? Find out next week, fellow readers!**


	10. Plan 9 From Inner Ponyville

**With all the shit that's been going on, our characters have been killed off or mentally scarred somehow. Applejack still doesn't know about her sister's death, Fluttershy needs to keep her shed a secret, Leon is losing his equinity, and both Draco and Rainbow Dash need to head to Canterlot. What'll happen next? Find out now!**

Rainbow Dash and Draco were each flying with their wings over Ponyville, daylight hitting the horizon, witnessing many Shamblers roaming the streets of the once vibrant town. _Maybe I should strike up a conversation with her. I... I... I kind of want to speak to her… _They were continuing their flight to Canterlot, when Draco spoke up. "Hey, Rainbow Dash... you do know that Tar Pony is Leon, right?" Draco said.

"Yeah… he told me that when we fought the deadheads outside. But he hasn't told Alan yet… it's really hard for him to when Alan sees him as a monster," Rainbow Dash said sadly.

"Alan's a smart kid… he knows when it's too dangerous or not. That's what kept us alive so far," Draco said admiringly.

"He gets it from Leon, doesn't he?" Rainbow Dash asked expectedly.

"Aw, hell no! He gets his smarts from Chloe. What he got from Leon was willpower, determination, strength… everything that was with Leon. Hell... Leon had a rough life since he learned he was an orphan. But with that fact, though, he's treated me, Chloe, Orion, and Alan like the family he never had. It's touching… but then he died, and it really hurt all of us... especially Alan. I don't think Leon would tell Alan right away, considering his condition," Draco explained.

Rainbow Dash absorbed what Draco had said, and it reminded her of when she adopted Scootaloo. She had taught her much of what Scootaloo knew, and sounded like Leon and how he showed compassion towards his son.

…

After their camping trip to Winsome Falls, Rainbow Dash had taken Scootaloo under her wing, and would help her in any way she can. "Just stick with me, squirt, and you'll beat any pony! Come on, I'll take you home," Rainbow said, but Scootaloo stopped when she said so. She looked at Rainbow with sad eyes, and began to tear up.

"Rainbow… I… I don't have a home," she said sadly.

"What? I thought you were staying at the orphanage in town," Rainbow said in confusion.

"No… they won't take me in anymore. I was thrown out because I'm too old to stay any longer," Scootaloo confessed.

"Why... why would they do that!?" Rainbow asked angrily.

"I don't know…" she began to sob, "but it reminds me of when I was… abandoned…" she couldn't finish, and she was on the floor crying.

Rainbow Dash walked up to her and comforted her. A light bulb came on inside Rainbow's head. "Hey, you know what? Screw those dirt bags… if you need a place to kick back, I can always help!" she said encouragingly. Scootaloo looked up with puppy eyes so adorable they couldn't be ignored by any pony.

She sniffled a bit before responding. "Re…Really? You'd do that for me?" she asked.

Rainbow reassured her. "I'd never let any pony down, including you!" She wrapped her wings around Scootaloo, and Scootaloo hugged back.

"I thought you never hugged ponies," Scootaloo said suspiciously, still sniffling.

"Well… you're the exception, squirt. Come on, let's go home!" Rainbow said, leading Scootaloo to her house.

…

Rainbow Dash had finished telling Draco about her experience, and Draco nodded in understanding. _Didn't Leon help that place out? Maybe that's why it closed down... he wasn't there anymore. _"So... is she your daughter, technically speaking?" he asked.

Rainbow Dash thought about it for a moment. "She's… a little bit of a smaller sister and a daughter. I consider her a sister when she does things on her own, but a daughter when she needs occasional help," Rainbow explained. She looked forward, and saw Canterlot. "There it is!"

They both flew near Canterlot, which seemed to be normal considering the circumstances. As they flew near, they smacked hard into something, and were stuck to it. They then skidded down slowly, and landed on the ground in front of the gates. They stood up, and determined there was a force field around Canterlot. They then saw some guards inside the force field, and called out to them. Though they were impenetrable, they were not soundproof.

The guards rushed to the gates, and each of them pointed some kind of device at the two. "Stay back, or you'll be terminated!" one of them said.

"Wait! We need to speak to Princess Twilight!" Rainbow said.

"Not without authorization from the Princess, you're not!" the guard responded.

"Wait… well that makes no sense!" Draco said.

Another figure stepped forward, dressed in a commander's uniform. "Rainbow Dash? Draco?" the figure asked. He was not a pony, and both of them wondered who he was.

"Yeah… can we go in?" Rainbow asked.

"Let them in!" the figure commanded, and the force field was lowered. They both entered the gates quickly, and the force field was quickly raised. Rainbow and Draco thanked the figure, and as soon as they saw him up close, recognized him.

It was Spike, Twilight's dragon and friend. He looked much bigger and older than last time, about the size of a mare standing on her hind legs and about a little bit shorter than Draco in height. He appeared more mature than before. His commander uniform was something the two fliers had never seen before; combat armor. It was digital camouflage armor and a matching helmet, with holsters on the chest and one on his right thigh, containing magazines and a pistol. Like Draco, Spike stood on two legs, unlike the ponies.

Rainbow Dash saw how Spike looked, and her wings popped up in an admiring fashion. She saw how amazed Draco was when he saw Spike, and took advantage of this. "Draco, remember yesterday how you said a certain some pony was 'a pussy' and 'couldn't do anything?' You've just been proven wrong," she said with a wide grin.

Draco could not speak, as he was in shock. _Well, thanks for making me look like a fucking pussy, Spike. _"Spike, what the… how… what have you been doing for the last five years since Twilight left?" Draco asked in amazement.

"Well, I felt that since she was the princess, I should do something to help the kingdom as well. So I joined the Royal Guard, and in the five years, rose in the ranks while rearming the Guard with new weaponry. Those things they're holding are Flameshots. They shoot fireballs, the only thing capable of permanently destroying those… things… outside," Draco explained. He spoke in a deep voice, unlike how he sounded years ago.

"Not true… those things outside can be destroyed by causing trauma to the head. We slayed a couple of them before we came over here," Draco said.

"Really? That, I didn't know. So what brings you two here? Are you the only ones left?" Spike asked.

"No, and that's why we came. We need either the Royal Guard or the CDC to send some help to Ponyville. We realized that the Shamblers have bitten ponies, which are now infected, turning them into Runners," Draco explained.

"Is there a way to tell the difference between them, other than their speed?" Spike asked.

"Yeah… the Shamblers are the ones who were dead before, and appear rotten and smell like shit. The Runners were former ponies, bitten by the Shamblers, and thus can run since they have not rotted," Draco explained.

"Got it, so that means we have to slay the rotten ones, and somehow find a cure for the bitten ones. Follow me, I'll lead you guys to Doc," Spike said as he escorted the two toward the CDC.

…

Arriving at the CDC, the two dragons and Rainbow entered the building. They saw how pristine it was; floors shining, walls white, and ponies inside performing multiple tasks such as cleaning tools, taking samples, and mixing chemicals together. They all turned towards the visitors, and greeted them. One pony in a hazmat suit walked up to them, and removed his mask. "Spike, Draco, Rainbow, welcome to the CDC!" Doc said excitedly. He was a navy blue unicorn with purple eyes, and was one of Leon's friends before he passed. "I am already aware of the situation, and am currently trying to resolve said situation. But with all the test subjects we had…" Doc motioned to a Shambler, tied to a table with every part of it restrained. It was growling, and had the muzzle on the Shambler not been on, would be gnashing their teeth at the ponies.

"Do you have any of the infected ponies? That's a dead one, and would probably do no good," Draco said.

"So far, no. They've been far too dangerous to capture, and we wouldn't risk any pony's lives trying to catch one," Doc said.

"Actually, we have a solution for that!" Draco said.

"Well, do share it with us," Doc said with hope.

He hesitated a bit before explaining. "Well, we have Leon, back from the dead," Draco said.

"WHAT!? REALLY!? That's incredible!" Doc exclaimed happily.

"Yeah, but as one of them. But he's different; it's like he has full awareness of his life before, and he's completely calm. We could send him in to you, if you'll take him," Draco said.

"He's… normal? That is amazing! Oh, what I find out each and every day! Of course I'll take him in!" Doc exclaimed. "How will we receive him, though?" Doc asked.

"We may need an escort, because if he were to come alone, well… you'd shit yourself. He's covered in tar, but is not a rotter," Draco explained.

Doc turned to Spike. "How about it, Spike? Would you follow them and bring back Leon?" Doc asked.

Spike nodded. "Sure, let me just tell Twilight and get geared up, and then we'll take off. Draco, R.D., wanna get suited up?" he asked.

"Would I!?" Draco asked excitedly, but calmed himself when Rainbow Dash snickered. "I mean, yeah, whatever."

They headed to the armory, and waved goodbye to Doc.

…

They arrived at the castle, and headed inside the armory. Rainbow did not want anything except one of the Flameshots. Draco suited up in combat armor similar to Spike's, except it was urban camouflage. Spike had armed himself with a SCAR-L equipped with a suppressor, extended magazine, and reflex sight. Draco holstered a M1911 pistol, received a weapon that bore resemblance to an HK G36c attached with a suppressor, ZF dual optic sight, and a Beta C-Mag drum. They both stocked up on ammunition. Both dragons also each took a grenade and a combat knife. "Wait, I thought weapons weren't around in Equestria anymore," Draco said.

"Twilight had repealed the weapon ban only to Royal Guard personnel. That... and she also had a thing for 'scientific discovery' in the design of weapons," Spike said. "Besides, so far only you and I can actually use the weapons. The ponies can only use those Flameshots, since they don't have fingers."

"Why don't we just fly to the cottage?" Rainbow asked.

"Because Stubby here doesn't have wings!" Draco replied, laughing hysterically at Spike. Rainbow found it amusing as well, and joined in. Spike glared at them, and they stopped.

"Really? You're going to rip on me because I don't have wings? Let's just go... the guns need to be used anyways," Spike said irritably.

"Fucking A. Look out, Shamblers; here comes a trio of bona fide badasses!" Draco said proudly as he, Spike, and Rainbow Dash stepped out of the armory and headed towards the gates. As the force field rose, they exited Canterlot, and headed back toward the infested wasteland that was once Ponyville.

**Well, serious shit is about to go down! Draco, Spike, and Rainbow have all been armed and dangerous. Will they be able to bring Leon back, though, if he cannot control himself? Will the group make it to the cottage? And, will any more events cause the deaths of our characters? Until next time, everyone!**


	11. No Return

**Well... so far everything seems to be going downhill for our survivors. Returning to where we last left Tar Pony, will he retain his equinity, or will his primal instincts take over him completely? Find out today!**

**Side Note: I forgot to mention if you guys found any references! Also, during the Walkman scene, I recommend reading this with the music playing (I did so when typing, and it felt natural). Point out any references you see, and hope you enjoy the chapter!**

Tar Pony walked towards the corpse, his eyes glowing a luminous blood red, no longer thinking about anything other than hunger, and noticed the two Runners, Pound and Pumpkin, had still been eating. He walked up to them, knelt down, and looked at the corpse. _Hungry… need… brains…_ He was about to reach for it, but stopped as his eyes flashed red, and then back to their original gold color. _NO!_ He instead grabbed the two Runners by their necks, and they struggled to get loose. He held on tightly, and had to use his wings to stop them. After securing their necks with his forelegs, he used his wings to tightly grasp their heads. _I'm sorry… _He strained for a moment, and heard two loud cracking noises, one after the other. The two Runners stopped moving now, and their limbs swung back and forth lifelessly.

He dropped the two, and they fell to the floor dead. He knelt down, tears in his eyes, and he had to act quickly before he lost control. _Think… food… in… fridge…_ he remembered, barely. He walked over to the fridge desperately, and took as much food as possible. He then devoured the food noisily, and had succeeded in retaining his equinity. He sighed in relief and satisfaction, and thought clearly now. _That's… better... no more Tar Pony... just me. _He approached the corpses of the twins, and bowed his head. He went upstairs to the bedrooms in the shop, grabbed some sheets, and brought them down with him. He threw the sheets over the two, and threw the other sheets onto the remains of Mr. Cake's corpse. He walked out of the shop, carrying the food he had scavenged with him.

He looked outside, and noticed more Shamblers and Runners had gathered outside the shop, almost in formation. They all stared him down, and one of the Runners had slowly pointed towards him. Something seemed familiar about this Runner, but Leon could not find what it was. It was a unicorn with its lower jaw broken off and tongue hanging from the gaping wound in his mouth. "Traitor…" it said with trouble as his tongue swung back and forth. "Get him…!"

As soon as they heard this, the Shamblers slowly stumbled towards Leon. Leon, now realizing he was in danger, tried to run, but remembered he was covered in tar. He noticed a Walkman on the ground, and picked it up quickly. _Well, might as well entertain myself before I die._

He lurched away as quickly as he could. They followed close behind him, and he knew he would have to fight them. He hid the food he carried in an overturned cart, turned towards them, and looked for anything to help him. He saw on the ground a pair of hedge trimmers, and picked them up. He turned towards the Shamblers, who still charged at him. He counted thirteen of them, and before he charged, he turned on the Walkman, playing "Bodies." He went up quickly, and opened the trimmers.

He approached the first Shambler in death row, and closed the trimmers around their neck, severing its head and spurting blood out of its neck. He opened them again, and turned them sideways for the next Shambler. He closed it down on its face, opening its face in half and revealing the inner skull, which squirted blood on Leon. He kicked down the body fiercely, and used the trimmers on the next Shambler, severing another neck and releasing more blood onto the dirt encrusted ground.

Rather than use the trimmers in the same fashion on the remaining ten Shamblers, he broke the trimmers in half, effectively making two bladed weapons. He held one in each wing, and charged towards the group. He slashed two at the same time, slashing one's head from the forehead down and the other sideways across the eyes, sending the cranium flying away. Both fell over, and Leon charged again. He pierced a Shambler in the chest with one blade, and repeatedly stabbed it in the face with the other, sending brain matter flying everywhere.

He kicked the body off his blades, and proceeded to the other seven Shamblers. He expertly tossed one of the blades towards an oncoming Shambler's head, sending it down to the ground dead. He used his solitary blade to slash at another Shambler, where it fell to the ground, still moving. He then crushed it's skull with a powerful stomp, sending more blood spurting on the ground. Leon walked up to the blade he threw, and pulled it out of the corpse. He sent it flying again, flinging it sideways so it spun like a helicopter rotor. It decapitated another Shambler, but was lost as it continued flying.

Four remained, and they all charged at him at once. He used his remaining blade and his strength to completely cut a Shambler in half. It split in front of him, setting a pile of organs on the ground. By then, the blade snapped in half, leaving splintered wood and the blade head. He picked up the blade head and threw it at lightning fast speed toward a Shambler, hitting it in the left eye and killing it. He picked up the splintered wooden grip, and used all of his strength to pierce the second to last Shambler in the face, crushing the skull underneath and leaving the stick embedded in the head.

The last Shambler stood, and Leon was unarmed, but it didn't stop him. He charged to the last Shambler, and punched it a few times. It did not flinch, so it grabbed him and flung him over. Leon slammed into the ground hard, and spun his leg to sweep the Shambler off its feet. He succeeded, and repeatedly punched the Shambler's face. The Shambler shoved him off, and stood up. Leon then gripped the head of the Shambler with his wings, and pulled up as hard as he could. He saw the Shambler's head slowly tearing away from the body, until it finally came off, killing the Shambler. He tossed the head to the side, and at that moment, "Bodies" ended on the Walkman.

Leon stood with the path of corpses behind him, blood and organs soaking the ground. He walked away from the massacre, and went over to the cart to pick up the food. He took it, and slowly stumbled outside of town and back towards the cottage before any more of the undead came.

…

Arriving safely and unnoticed at the cottage, Leon knocked on the door. A few seconds later, Fluttershy answered it. "Leon, thank goodness you're all right!"

"Yeah, I'm fine… did R.D. and Draco leave already?" Leon asked.

"Yes, they left some time ago." She looked at the baskets and bag of food he brought, and she squealed with delight. "Yay!" she said, barely audible.

She allowed him inside, and Leon entered the cottage, where he was welcomed warmly by Applejack and Derpy. The foals were still slightly terrified of Tar Pony, but he brought them each a meal, and they gladly accepted it. "You know what? You foals remind me of my friends long ago. Like you… what's your name?" Leon asked, motioning to Eric.

"Uh… Eric… sir," he answered nervously. Considering his condition, he never went outside much, and he lived a solitary life in his home before.

"You remind me of Percival William Preston III. He was from Trottingham, which judging by your voice sounds like where you came from," Leon told him.

"Really!? That's incredible! But I'm not from Trottingham…" He paused a bit before he spoke again. "Wait… that's my father's name… how did you know him?"

Alan turned towards Leon. "How did you know Percy, Tar?" he questioned.

"Oh, I'm an old friend of his that passed some time ago," Leon explained.

Alan was now curious as to who Tar once was. "So… do you have a real name then, Tar?" he asked.

Leon was waiting for this moment to come, but he couldn't say that he was really himself yet, otherwise he'd put all of them in danger. "My real name? It's Magnus, little one," he responded, giving Alan his birth name. Alan looked disappointed, not remembering that his father's birth name was Magnus.

"So, Magnus, how do you still remember your life?" Alan asked.

"Well, I guess I didn't rot, mainly because I was in a mausoleum instead of the ground. It's… I don't know really how," Leon admitted.

Alan didn't know what else to ask, so he stayed quiet. Dinky had noticed that both Applebloom and Sweetie Belle had not turned up in some time, and was starting to get worried. "Hey, Fluttershy, where are Applebloom and Sweetie Belle?"

Fluttershy didn't know how to respond to the question, and she tried to ignore the question, but then Applejack piped up as well. "Yeah… where are they? I haven't seen Applebloom in some time. And where was Sweetie Belle left at?" she asked.

"Oh… uh… um… I…I…" Fluttershy stuttered. Her cheeks grew red with fear, sweat trickled down her forehead, and she trembled in fear. She couldn't speak, and she fainted on the spot. They all looked at her, and wondered what was up.

"What was that about? Where are Applebloom and Sweetie Belle?" Applejack turned to Tar Pony. "Did you do something to them?" Applejack questioned suspiciously.

"What? No! I would never do something to them," Tar denied.

"Then where are they at!? Do you know, Tar, or are you gonna let us keep wondering?" Applejack asked impatiently.

He looked away, turned to Fluttershy, who was still unconscious, and turned back to Applejack. "They're… they're both in the shed… I… I locked them in there," he told her, defending Fluttershy.

She immediately got furious at that, and Derpy held her back. "YOU WHAT!? I'LL KILL YA! LET ME GO, NOW!" she yelled. She was struggling to get free from Derpy.

"They're both infected! They aren't equine anymore, but we are not going to kill them! I've kept them there so they won't get the others. Listen to me, Applejack!" Leon explained.

"No, you listen to me, you prick! I will get you, you two-timing son of a bitch, if you harm them!" she warned angrily, still struggling.

"They aren't being harmed! They're the ones who'll do harm if they were free," Leon explained.

Applejack, now done listening to him, finally got free of Derpy and ran to another room. She came back with her shotgun, and aimed it at Tar Pony. "You get them outta there, now!" she ordered.

"Applejack, let's be reasonable about this…" Leon persuaded, trying to calm her down.

She loaded two shells into the gun, and closed the barrels. "Next time I ask, it'll be with twenty or so pellets embedded into ya! Get them out… now!" she yelled.

Leon had no choice for what he was going to do next. He led her to the shed, and opened it. She entered the shed, still aiming at Leon. She looked around the shed, but it was a bit dark. "Applejack!" said a familiar voice. Applejack turned to look, and saw Applebloom tied up in chains. She ran up to her, and hugged her.

"Applebloom, what did this pony do to you?" she inquired.

"They've been feeding me good! I ain't been hungry yet, and they tell me not to bite other ponies," she said, in a deeper and raspier voice.

"Don't you worry, I'll get ya outta here, and kill that son of a bitch," Applejack said. She turned towards Leon, and aimed her shotgun at him. "You just breathed your last breath, scum!" she said.

"No, Applejack, he was just helping out. Right, Big Macintosh?" Applebloom asked.

"Eeyup…" he said. Applejack turned to find Big Macintosh chained as well, and she turned around, even angrier than before.

"So, that's two of my kin you have trapped? That means these two shells go into your fucking skull!" she yelled in anger.

_Oh, fuck._ Leon had known she would lose it. He had brought with him a set of chains very discreetly so that Applejack didn't notice. _I don't want to kill her. I need to restrain her, or else she's gonna kill all of us with her act._ He swung the chains at Applejack, redirecting the gun when she fired to hit the wall. He used the chains to lasso her, but she quickly acted. She kicked him hard, sending him flying to the wall. He slammed into it, and slid down the wall. He looked up, and saw Applejack aiming the gun at him again from the other side of the shed. "I'll see ya in hell," she said coldly. She fired, and Leon closed his eyes.

All that was heard after the shot was a thud on the floor.

**I'm sorry, but I needed to leave a cliffhanger here at Leon's fate. Will Rainbow, Draco, and Spike make it back, only to find Leon dead? Will Alan learn of this? What or who else is next to die? Find out next time!**


	12. The Comeback

**Continuing back off with the dragons and R.D., they make their way back to the cottage. Can they make it back all right? Will they arrive to find that their journey was a waste of time? Find out now!**

**Note: This chapter happens at the same time as the last one, to avoid confusion.**

Draco, Spike, and Rainbow made their way back to Ponyville on foot and hoof. They were on constant alert, and Spike had begun a conversation. "So, how's everything been in Ponyville? I mean, before it went to hell."

Before he answered, Draco pulled out a cigar, lit it with his fire, and placed it in his mouth. "Well, it was same old same old. Every pony was happy, it was always bright, etcetera. Do you know how the outbreak started?" Draco asked.

"Actually, I thought you would. It started in Ponyville, and doesn't seem to have gone anywhere else yet, so Ponyville is technically considered Ground Zero. It's unusual, but it happened," Spike said.

"I thought Alan might know. He went to the cemetery just before the outbreak, and came back all right," Rainbow said.

"Well, we'll have to look more into that." Spike stopped them. "Wait… listen." Silence, then a crunching noise in the city outskirts came. Spike and Draco aimed their weapons, and continued travelling silently. They were on high alert, and they made their way through to town square. "Rainbow Dash, head up to see if you spot anything," Spike issued.

She flew up into the air, and looked around. She aimed her Flameshot somewhere, and fired a single fireball. She flew back down quickly, and reported. "Nothing anymore. Hit one of them with a shot, and they fell over burning," she said.

They continued through the town, and passed by the library. Spike laughed a bit. "Heh heh… yep, those were the good old days," he said. Draco was still smoking his cigar, and nodded. He remembered him and Twilight moving into Ponyville, and how out of place they seemed at first.

They heard a rumbling noise coming from inside, and aimed their weapons. They entered the library, and found a group of Shamblers inside, feasting off of some corpses. They turned around, and Spike and Draco fired their weapons.

Since they were suppressed, the weapons barely made an audible sound, but the two dragons fired heavily on the group. The Shamblers were downed in no time at all. The dragons reloaded their weapons, and they all walked up to the bodies, and noticed that they've been feasting on some of the other Shamblers Draco and Alan killed in the night.

"What the fuck? These were the same Shamblers we killed the night before… and these new ones were eating them… so they're double cannibals?" Draco commented. "Hell, Spike, you and I can go for at the most a week without food after a good meal of gems. These guys act as if eating is everything in the world."

Spike was a bit disgusted. "That's not good. If these ponies can eat each other when nothing else is available, they may survive for a lot longer. I gotta contact Doc," he said. He took out a radio from one of his chest holsters, and turned it on. "Doc, come in!" he said.

"Yes, Spike?" Doc answered.

"We got trouble… they seem to be feasting off of each other. They're trying to improvise for the amount of food shortages they have. I'll look more into it," Spike said.

"You do that. By the way, where is Leon?" Doc asked.

"Where is he at, Draco?" Spike asked.

"Fluttershy's cottage," Draco responded.

"He's in Fluttershy's cottage," Spike said into the radio.

For a moment, there was no reply. "Fluttershy? Spike, get there as quickly as possible… please," Doc said.

"I will. Signing off," Spike said, and he shut off the radio. "Come on, let's get a move on." He was interrupted by a sudden burst in the wall. They all turned to look, and saw something extremely dangerous was now undead.

"Oh, shit! Manticore!" Draco yelled.

The two dragons fired their weapons at it, but it moved incredibly fast for something dead. Rainbow Dash flew up, turned on the Walkman, and began to play "Blow Me Away." She aimed the Flameshot, but couldn't get a shot off the Manticore. The Manticore charged towards the dragons, roaring. They both dodged the Manticore, and returned fire again. They got a couple of shots into the Manticore, but all they did was made it angrier.

The Manticore swiped at Draco, and knocked the G36c out of his hands. He jumped out of the way before the Manticore swiped again. He pulled out the pistol in his holster, and fired it quickly at the Manticore. He got off a couple of shots on the Manticore, but ran out of ammo for it. Spike then fired his SCAR-L at the Manticore to distract it.

The Manticore then charged towards Spike, who had run out of ammo for the SCAR-L. "Fuck me…" he said as the Manticore charged towards him and swiped its claws at the gun. Draco had already recovered his weapon, and fired the remaining bullets at the Manticore. Enraged by how much wounds it had, the Manticore roared loudly, attracting a horde of Shamblers and three Runners. The Runners charged toward each living being as the Manticore waited back.

Spike pulled out his pistol, and fired repeatedly at the Runner sprinting towards him. It fell down to the ground dead. Draco had reloaded his pistol, but holstered it to draw out the combat knife on the other holster. He stood in a ready stance, and waited for the Runner to sprint at him. The Runner got close enough for Draco to stab it, bring it towards him, and use it as a shield while he pulled out his pistol and fired shots into the horde of Shamblers. Rainbow Dash landed, and waited for the remaining Runner to charge at her. She used her wings to fly over it, land behind it, and throw it over her shoulders towards the horde. She then quickly fired her Flameshot to the flying Runner, and it caught on fire before landing amongst the horde.

Draco then discarded his shield by blowing its brains out with the pistol. He reloaded the G36c, and noticed it was his last mag. "Better make it count," he said as he aimed towards the Manticore. Spike picked up the SCAR-L, and reloaded it, also noticing he had one more mag remaining. He turned towards Draco.

"Draco! Use your rounds on the Manticore! I'll deal with the rest of the horde!" he yelled out. He then aimed towards the burning fire, where Shamblers were walking out covered in flames. Spike fired his weapon in short bursts, taking out the Shamblers one by one. He counted his bullets carefully, and knew he had seventeen rounds left. He eliminated the Shamblers, and the Manticore was now left. Using its scorpion tail now, the Manticore repeatedly attempted to pierce the militia, but to no avail. The Manticore was now stuck when it jabbed its tail into an old marble statue, and could not remove it.

The militia took advantage of this, and fired repeatedly into the Manticore's head. The Manticore was roaring very loudly, but it had finally succumbed to its wounds, and fell over on the ground, just as the song on the Walkman ended. Both dragons looked at their weapons, and discarded them since they were out of rifle ammo. They still had rounds left for the pistols, so they held onto them. "Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Draco shouted. He raised his hand into the air, and both Spike and Rainbow Dash slapped the hand.

"Man, that was the most combat experience I've had… literally!" Spike commented.

They all walked out of the library to find a group of about ten undead waiting outside. The militia and the Runners stared each other down, no pony or dragon making a move.

"Right… let's do this," Rainbow Dash said.

She readied her Flameshot, but Spike stopped her. "Wait… they may not see us yet…" Spike looked back at the fire in the library, and noticed something. _Maybe they see things with heat…_ Not really, as the Runners had all sprinted towards them. Draco and Spike pulled out their pistols. Spike fired into the charging crowd, but Draco had not reloaded the pistol. He realized this, and quickly reloaded. A Runner caught up with him, and grabbed him. Draco struggled to get free, until he pulled out the knife and pierced the Runner through its eye. The Runner fell back on the ground dead, but another one rushed up to Draco.

"These guys just don't stop coming!" he yelled out. Draco pulled out the pistol, and saw it was his last clip. He fired a shot into the Runner's forehead, and used him as a shield. He fired the last of the pistol rounds into the horde, until he ran out. Angry, he threw it into the crowd, and thought of an alternative weapon. Spike continued firing his pistol until it too ran out of ammo. He placed it back into the holster, and turned to Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow Dash, fly up now! When we signal, set the Runners on fire!" Spike yelled. He pulled out his knife, and turned to Draco. "Draco, use the meat shield to bag and tag the bastards!" he ordered.

Draco, understanding what Spike meant, pulled the only grenade he had on his holster, pulled the pin, attached it to the corpse he used as a shield, and kicked it away from him towards the group of Runners. They received the corpse, and a moment later incinerated in a fiery explosion, sending body parts flying everywhere and evaporating blood into red mist. Smoke filled the air as the fire rose up and disappeared into the wind.

Draco and Spike could not see into the smoke as it surrounded both of them. Spike was at the ready, and a Runner came out of the smoke at him. He pierced its skull as it came at him, and kicked the corpse back. Draco attempted to see through the smoke, but could not. He felt a tap on his shoulder, and quickly turned around. He stood face to face with a Runner, and before he could strike, it grabbed onto him and bit him on the neck, releasing a fine spray of green dragon blood from Draco.

"AH! YOU FUCKING PRICK!" he yelled as he pulled out the knife and stabbed it into the Runner's ear, killing it. As he did, he grasped onto his neck, and noticed the smoke clearing. He found that all of the Runners had been eliminated and been doused in blood, and turned towards Spike, still clutching his wound. Spike and Rainbow Dash both approached him, and wanted to help him. He backed away slowly, terrified.

"No… don't get closer… I'm… bitten." He looked down at the ground, and knelt down. "I'm gonna become one of them… fuck." He let go of his wound, and looked at his gloved hand. It was stained with his green blood, and he lowered his trembling hand slowly. He laughed a bit, and then sighed. "Funny… I kind of knew this was gonna get me somehow. I'm sorry, you guys." He looked up at them one last time, with pleading eyes. "Take care of Alan for me…" He then collapsed to the ground, breathing his last words before he died.

Spike and Rainbow Dash rushed over to him. Spike checked his pulse, and lowered his head down in sadness. He looked up to Rainbow, and slowly shook his head. Rainbow Dash could not help but burst out in tears, and she rushed over to him. "NO! YOU DON'T GIVE UP ON US, DRACO! NOT NOW!" she yelled as she tried to revive him. Spike pulled out some hoof-cuffs from his holster, and attached them to Draco's arms. He pulled out the ones in Draco's armor as well and hoof-cuffed his legs. Spike then lifted Draco's corpse onto his back, but Rainbow Dash stopped him.

"Where are you taking him!? You leave him alone!" she yelled.

"We need to put him somewhere safe, so that they don't devour him…" He sighed as he said this. "Man… this turned out much worse than I thought it would." Spike took his corpse and headed towards Fluttershy's cottage, where he saw the cottage in the distance. He walked towards the cottage, and turned towards Rainbow. "So… who's at the cottage?" Spike asked.

She hesitated slowly before answering. "Applejack, Derpy, Dinky, Alan, Leon, Fluttershy, Eric, and Scootaloo. All of them are safe and sound… for now," Rainbow said.

They stood in front of the cottage, and heard a commotion inside the shed. "What is that?" Spike asked. He ignored it when he saw Applejack enter, and knocked on the door to the cottage. Fluttershy opened the door, but rushed out quickly. Spike entered, and waited to see how the situation was here.

**Draco's now dead... and the infected now seem to be doing anything to survive. The survivors now need to take Leon back to Canterlot, but with Applejack's rage, will they now have no hope of curing the disease? Will her actions get them all killed? And what is Wesker planning? Find out next chapter!**


	13. Back Again

Leon opened his eyes after he heard the gunshot. He was still alive... somehow. He looked at himself and noticed he was completely unharmed. He looked to Applejack, who was standing absolutely still, as though she were in shock. He didn't know what she was so surprised at at first, and he noticed she wasn't looking at him. Leon turned to where she looked, and saw why, and horror registered on his face. Leon saw Fluttershy lying on the ground, not moving at all. He ran up to her, and inspected her. He turned her over, and saw she was the one who was shot with the shell. Many pellet marks were embedded into her midsection, and his hooves were trembling heavily. He was breathing hard, and he was hyperventilating, not knowing what to do or think.

The Control Freaks chained inside stood with shock, and they all hid themselves from Applejack.

Leon lowered his head, and then turned sharply towards Applejack, who had now noticed what she had done. He took the gun from her, and used the stock to whack her across the head. She fell to the ground, and looked up at Leon with frightened eyes. He approached her, with fury and rage. "YOU FUCKING CUNT! HOW COULD YOU!? FLUTTERSHY... SHE HELPED YOU AND YOUR SISTER! AND WHAT DO YOU DO!? SHOOT HER!? THAT'S HOW YOU SHOW YOU'RE WELCOME!?" He smacked her with the butt of the gun again, and she was now crying, not because of the pain, but because of what she had done.

"No… NO! I…I tried to get you!" she stammered.

"AFTER SHE HAD ADVISED YOU NOT TO!" He grabbed a shell from the ground, and loaded it into the gun. He closed the barrel, and aimed at Applejack. "WHY!? WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU SHOOT HER!? YOU TRY TO KILL ME… AND NOW… SHE'S DEAD!"

"I… I never would shoot her!" she pleaded, which earned her another vicious whack from Leon.

"HOW COULD YOU LIE TO ME AFTER WHAT I SAW!?" He snatched her, and slammed her into the wall. He punched her with his hoof, and she fell to the ground again. She was badly beaten, and she lay on the floor, shedding tears.

"She… she got in the way!" Applejack said. Leon stopped, and closed his eyes as tears flooded out of them.

He aimed the gun at Applejack, and stared at her with cold eyes. "What was it you said to me before? I'll see ya in hell? That's where you're going… no doubt," he said calmly but coldly. He aimed at Applejack's head, but stopped when he heard the door to the shed open.

Alan came inside, and looked around the shed. He noticed the chained ponies, Fluttershy on the ground, and Applejack being held hostage by Tar Pony. Alan became enraged, and tackled Tar Pony to the ground. "I don't think so, you bastard!" Alan said in fury as he kicked the gun away from Tar. Alan had tears in his eyes, and he stood on top of Tar Pony. "Applejack, grab the gun and blow this fucker's brains out!"

Applejack slowly went over to the gun, and picked it up. She checked the barrels, and made sure they were loaded. She closed the barrel with a loud click, and readied the gun.

Rather than shoot Leon, she turned the gun on herself. She fired the shot into her chest, and flew back, dead, leaning on the wall, her hat covering her face. Alan, completely taken by shock and horror by the action, ran over to her, and shook her corpse. He lowered his head, and stayed for a moment. He turned back towards Tar Pony, and pulled out the sickle Eric had. He got on top of Tar Pony again, and stuck the blade to his neck. "Oh, I'm gonna enjoy killing you, you fucking piece of shit!" he said angrily, gritting his teeth.

Coughing came from behind Alan, and he turned around. He saw Fluttershy, still alive, struggling to breathe. Alan ran over to her, and knelt beside her. "Alan… don't. He's not who you think he is… don't kill him," Fluttershy struggled to say as she breathed hard.

"Fluttershy… what happened? What did he do to you?" Alan asked.

"Tar Pony… was only helping… me. Applejack… threatened to kill him… so I ran in front of her," Fluttershy explained, rasping and coughing up blood.

"What? Why would you do that? Why would Applejack do that?" Alan asked.

"She… went… mad when… she saw… her siblings. Alan; you need to know… who Tar Pony really is. He's… he's…" She never finished as she collapsed on the ground. The Control Freaks inside all lowered their heads in mourning as she did.

Leon stood up, and went over to Fluttershy, and knelt beside her. Her eyes were still open, and he closed them slowly, tears flooding out of his eyes. He lowered his head, and began to sob. Alan looked back at him, and was also sobbing as well. Leon embraced Alan, and Alan didn't mind, as they were both mourning the loss of their friend. Alan looked up at Leon, with tears in his eyes. "Tar Pony… who are you? Fluttershy… she said you weren't who I thought you were."

Leon looked back down at Alan, with tears in his eyes as well. "Hand me that sickle… and I'll show you," he said slowly. Alan handed him the sickle, and Leon began to scrape off the tar from his body. He shaved off much of the tar around his body first, then the tar around his face, until all the tar was removed from his body. Tar Pony was no more, and Leon stood as himself for the first time in three years. Alan was surprised, astonished, that his father was standing right in front of him. Alan, upon seeing his father again, ran up to him and hugged him.

"Dad… is it really you?" he asked with tears in his eyes.

"Yes… it is. You don't know how much I've missed you and your mother. I was so relieved to see you were OK, and I had never wanted you to do anything dangerous out there. Anything I did was to help you guys out," Leon explained.

"Dad… I missed you too. You were gone for so long, and when this happened…" he didn't finish.

"It's OK, Alan. I'm terrified at what's going on as well. But as long as we all stay together, we'll make it out OK." Leon looked around, and turned back to Alan. "Where's Draco? Shouldn't he be back by now with Rainbow Dash?" Leon asked.

Alan looked up at him with sad eyes, and Spike came into the shed, carrying Draco's corpse on his back. He placed Draco on the floor inside the shed, and Leon was devastated. He shook his head in denial, and nodded sadly. He clenched his hooves, yelled out in misery and anger, and punched the wall inside the shed, breaking a hole into it. He was seething with rage, and more tears flooded out of him. He turned towards Spike. "What happened to him, Spike!?"

"We headed from Canterlot back towards here. We were assaulted by those things and a Manticore, which we fought off and killed. He was bitten on the neck, though," Spike explained.

Leon could not accept this, and he immediately went into a fit of rage. He continued punching holes into the wall, bucked inside the shed, and neighed crazily. He then turned towards Spike, his fury ended. "When do we head to Canterlot?"

"Whenever you're ready," Spike answered.

"Good… because I wanna take off as many Shambler heads as possible! These things are gonna fucking die, right now!" He left the shed, followed by Spike and Alan. He entered the cottage, and the remaining ponies turned towards him. They were all shocked to see not Tar Pony anymore, but Leon, alive and kicking. They all ran up to him, and were flooding him with questions. He motioned for them to calm down, still seething in rage, and spoke what was on his mind.

"OK… Derpy and Rainbow Dash, you two stay here with the foals, and make sure they don't leave this cottage. Alan, Spike, and I are heading back to Canterlot. Whatever you do, don't go back into that shed. The total body count just rose, and I don't want you risking your lives," Leon explained.

Eric lowered his ears, and walked away sadly to another room in the cottage. _So… Alan's father has returned to him… why do I feel so alone? Answer… because I am alone now…I have no pony left to be with._ The ponies watched as Eric left, but they didn't know what was wrong.

The others all agreed to the plan, and Leon set off with Spike and Alan. Leon turned to Alan. "Where is the Amulet, Alan?" he asked.

"Right here, Dad!" Alan said as he handed the Amulet of Rebirth back to Leon. Before Leon put on the Amulet, Leon saw that Alan wore the locket he had given him. Leon smiled, and remembered that day. After the memory, he laughed a bit, and patted Alan on the head.

He placed on the Amulet, and began his transformation into Magnus. His coat turned a bright yellow, his mane and tail caught on fire, his eyes shone from yellow to red, and his wings became more powerful. He stood now as Magnus, Leon's birth name and alias when he was the Phoenix Bearer. He motioned for Spike and Alan to hop on, and they did so. He opened his wings, and began to fly back to Canterlot. He flew quickly, and he passed over Ponyville quickly. He saw Canterlot in the distance, and flew much lower now.

…

He landed in front of the gates, and many of the guards were surprised to see the return of the Phoenix Bearer after three years. They opened the force field quickly, and allowed them inside. The fields then closed, and Magnus questioned where the CDC was. The guards allowed Spike to escort Magnus to the CDC, and they made their way through the town. Many eyes saw the Phoenix Bearer, and were filled with surprise that he was indeed alive since three years ago.

They soon arrived at the CDC, and Doc greeted them again. He saw Magnus enter as well, and looked in surprise. "Leon… is it really you?" he asked.

"Well, yes and no. Technically, I'm dead. But that's why I'm here. We need you to test me for any way that we could fix this problem. Already most of the ponies I stayed with in Ponyville are infected… including Draco," he said sadly.

"Of course!" Doc said as he led Magnus to a room, filled with many lab utensils, test tubes, charts, and chemicals. Doc then sat Magnus down, and strapped him to a table. Doc attached many IV needles into Magnus, and began injecting fluids from the machines into him. Magnus felt no change inside him, and after fifteen minutes, Doc shook his head.

"Well, whatever this 'disease' is, it's not biological inside you…" Doc said.

"What does that mean? That there's no cure?" Magnus said.

"No, there may be, but… you're technically not dead…" he said reassuringly.

Magnus gave Doc a quizzical look. "What? I'm… not dead?" he said.

"No… in fact, it seems as though you resurrected fully back to life... somehow. By now, you're corpse would have rotted to some degree… tell me, what happened before you came back up?" Doc asked.

"I… don't know…" he said slowly. An idea popped in his head. "Wait a minute… Alan! He was at the cemetery before everything went haywire! Maybe he knows!" Magnus declared.

Doc left out of the room, and brought Spike and Alan in moments later.

"Dad, anything yet?" Alan asked.

"No… but you're going to help us out. What happened at the cemetery before you left? Did anything suspicious happen near the cemetery?" Magnus asked.

Alan thought for a while, trying to remember what he had noticed. _Let's see, I went to Dad's grave, left him a sandwich, brought some things like the locket and Amulet, and saw a pony leave toward Ponyville._ "Well, I did notice one other pony alone in the graveyard, but I think it was a Shambler," Alan said.

"Did you see how they looked?" Doc asked.

"No, they were on the other side of the cemetery. I still think that was just a Shambler," Alan said.

"Well, we won't know for sure. Doc, I'm going to come back with one of the infected ponies… what did you call them, son?" Magnus asked.

"Runners. The dead ones are Shamblers, the infected ones are Runners," Alan clarified.

"Right. Alan, you are going to stay here until I get back. Doc, don't let him leave," Magnus said.

"Got it," Doc replied. Alan looked up at his father disappointedly.

"Dad, I wanna help too…" Alan complained.

"No... it's far too dangerous. Stay here, Alan, and don't do anything dangerous," Magnus warned. He left the CDC, and decided to fly back to Fluttershy's cottage to bring one of the Control Freaks in the shed back to Canterlot. Magnus opened his wings outside of the building, and flew over the gates, while the guards quickly opened and closed the force field to allow him to exit.


	14. Quarantine

Magnus flew over Ponyville yet again, now filled to the brim with Shamblers and Runners. They all looked up at him, but ignored him as he was out of reach. Magnus flew until he saw the cottage in the distance. He landed softly on the ground, and entered the cottage. He couldn't find any pony, so he called out. "Rainbow Dash! Derpy! Where are you guys?" No answer. He left the cottage, and entered the shed.

He entered to find Rainbow Dash, Derpy, Dinky, Eric, and Scootaloo inside, all staring at the ponies chained to the walls. They saw Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Big Macintosh, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, Fluttershy, and Applejack, all growling, neighing, and moaning in hunger. The only infected to reamin calm was Draco, as he sat down casually, smoking a cigar. Magnus knew the others had not eaten in some time, and he went inside the cottage, bringing two bags of chickenfeed. He returned to the shed, and poured the contents of both bags into the feeding trays. All of the infected ponies now surged towards the trays, and began to devour the food. There was loud chewing, crunching, and feasting noises coming from the trays.

The survivors turned toward Magnus. "What… what are they doing here!?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"We're keeping them safe so that there's a way to bring them back. We locked them in here so they wouldn't get us," Magnus explained.

"You mean… Fluttershy was in on it too?" Rainbow asked.

"Yeah," Magnus said as he watched an infected Fluttershy eat more calmly now. "She has a good heart. What surprised me is that she actually managed to capture them. As for the others that turned at the barn and here… we had to take precautions."

After Magnus explained to them, they fully understood, and agreed with the idea. Fluttershy turned towards them. "Um… Leon… did Doc find a way to help us?" she asked. She had filled her appetite, and was in control for now.

Magnus shook his head disappointedly. "That's why I came back. Doc said I wasn't really dead, but rather I resurrected somehow. I haven't found out how yet, but I guess that means… I'm a pony again. I have to take some of you guys back to Canterlot to be tested for cures." Magnus turned towards Fluttershy. "For sure, you'll come, Fluttershy. Your experience is going to help Doc out a lot. I need to warn him about your hunger, though," Magnus stated.

"Doc… will I really get to help him?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yes, you will. I may need to bring another Control Freak… so how about Pinkie Pie?" Magnus suggested. Pinkie Pie looked up with a smile on her face.

"Okey-Dokey-Lokey!" she said happily. She and Fluttershy were led out of the shed, and the survivors headed back inside the cottage. Magnus used the chains inside the shed to attach Pinkie Pie to his back, while Fluttershy could fly on her own. Before he left, Magnus turned back to the survivors.

"Make sure to feed a bag of chickenfeed three times a day. If they don't eat, they might go into a blind rage and kill each other," Magnus advised.

Derpy and Rainbow Dash nodded. Magnus and Fluttershy then opened their wings, and took off. They flew up into the air, and Magnus saw Fluttershy struggling a bit with flying. "Do you need help?" Magnus asked.

"No… it's just that… I don't want to hurt any pony in Canterlot," Fluttershy said nervously. She was technically a Control Freak at the moment, so she had consciousness over her thoughts and actions.

"Fluttershy, as long as you don't go hungry, you should be all right. I'll make sure you and every pony else is safe," Magnus reassured her. She smiled at him, and they eventually arrived at Canterlot. The guards opened the force field, and allowed the three to enter Canterlot. Magnus and Fluttershy landed, and they walked the rest of the way to the CDC. They entered the building, and every pony's eyes turned when they saw Fluttershy, who still had her wounds from the shotgun blast. Magnus raised a hoof, and they all continued their work.

Doc came out of a nearby room with Alan, and when he saw Fluttershy, his heart dropped. "No… Fluttershy… they got you?" Doc asked sadly.

Fluttershy looked down in misery and shame, and nodded slowly. Magnus walked towards Doc, and told him the situation. "Doc… she's still the same pony. I will warn you, she must not go hungry; otherwise she will go into a blind rage and devour whatever she can find. Do you understand?" Magnus asked.

Doc could not look at Magnus, and looked sadly at Fluttershy. He did not answer for a moment, and he approached Fluttershy. "Leon… I understand," he said sadly. "Fluttershy, I will try everything I can to help you… I swear on it," he said confidently. She looked up at him, and nudged him. He led her, Magnus, Alan, and Pinkie Pie to the room he came from. He strapped Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy in two beds, and he began to get supplies using his magic. He set up machines nearby the beds, and injected the two ponies with IV needles.

While he waited, he grabbed a radio on a nearby table, and called into it. "Spike, Leon has returned. Are you still at the armory?" Doc asked.

"Yeah, I just spoke to Twilight about the situation. She had wanted to meet with Leon since he arrived, and she said it was important. Is he needed at the CDC or can he come over here?" Spike asked in the radio.

"I can send him over there. Doc out," Doc said as he shut off the radio. He turned to Magnus. "Will you head to the castle?" Doc asked.

"If it is important… then yes. Alan, stay here. Doc, if anything comes up with a cure, be sure to keep me updated," Magnus said.

"Dad, why can't I help you out?" Alan asked sadly.

Magnus took a deep breath, and told him. "Alan, if everything wasn't going wrong, I would have you help me, but the way things are now, I need to keep you safe. I'll return soon, OK?" Magnus said.

Alan lowered his head sadly, and nodded. Magnus then left the CDC and began to head to the castle. Doc then turned to Alan, and reassured him. "Alan, trust me. You're the number one responsibility he has." He then turned to the beds, and his eyes went wide with fear. Fluttershy was still strapped in, but Pinkie Pie was nowhere to be seen. He rushed to the bed, and found the straps had been chewed through. "Oh, dear lord… how?," he said as he ran to an intercom on the wall. He pushed a button on the wall, and called out. "ATTENTION! CODE #115! REPEAT, CODE #115! SUBJECT HAS ESCAPED CAPTIVITY AND IS NOW LOOSE ON THE PREMISES! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! REPEAT, NOT A DRILL!" Doc yelled out into the intercom.

Alan was terrified, and he trembled in place. "Doc, what's going on?" Alan said, fear and dread having replaced his voice.

Doc went to a locker on the wall, labeled with the words "Ethical Extermination Devices" on the side. He opened it, and pulled out a sawn-off, double-barreled shotgun. He loaded the gun with two shells using his magic, and turned to Alan. "Alan, Pinkie Pie escaped. She could be anywhere in the building, so stay close to me!" Doc said. A new voice played on the intercom.

"ATTENTION! CODE #28! REPEAT, CODE #28! SUBJECT IS NOT ON PREMISES AND IS NOW LOOSE IN THE PUBLIC! LOCK DOWN IN PROCESS! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! REPEAT, NOT A DRILL!" the intercom yelled out.

"Oh… my… god…" Doc said slowly. "Alan… the CDC… has just singlehandedly infected Canterlot," Doc said with horror.

…

Pinkamena Diane Pie was drudging slowly in Canterlot, and her hunger was increasing slowly. She could not find any chickenfeed, and her appetite for ponies was growing more and more. She resisted at first. _No... can't... become... a party pooper... like them._ Her usual happy state was slowly replaced with her depressed alter ego. She twitched very much, and her eyes were frantically darting around at the ponies roaming the streets of Canterlot, having lost much of her control. _Oh, wow, look at all the delicious ponies! Need to get one of them as a meal soon!_ She was losing it, and her rage and anger were slowly building up. Finally, she had enough of her anger, and her equinity finally broke. Her primal instincts took over, and she immediately charged a pony walking the street. Pinkamena bit into their neck, and at the sight of this, every other pony on the street went into a panic.

Pinkamena noticed this noise, and she charged at the fleeing ponies. She tackled two of them down, and started devouring them. She ripped the face off one of them, and immediately killed the pony. She then bit into the other one, and they too slowly bled out. Pinkamena stood up, and she looked around for more ponies. _This is fun!_ She now had her hunger filled, but now her bloodlust had taken over her, and she found it a sick pleasure.

The ponies that had perished at the hooves of Pinkamena had now slowly risen up, now part of the damned souls that were the Runners. They moaned, and called out ravenously, "Brains… live brains…" They stood up, and wandered through the town. They had noticed more ponies in the town's center, and the Runners charged at them. Pinkamena, the leader of the group of Runners, turned to the Barrier. "Where's the Walkman when you need it?" Pinkamena said in a demented voice. She led the ever-growing group of Runners throughout the big city, ravaging it and spreading the infection much more rapidly than ever before.


	15. The Demon

Back at the cottage, Derpy and Rainbow were watching the three foals. They had made sure to feed the Control Freaks in the shed their usual meals, and after doing so, stayed for a bit. Scootaloo and the undead Cutie Mark Crusaders had conversed as they would normally, talking about potential attempts at gaining their cutie marks. Draco was hoof-cuffed, but it didn't stop him from enjoying a cigar. Big Macintosh was busy eating, and Applejack hid herself in a nearby corner in shame. Rarity had spoken to her sister as well, and they seemed to enjoy their company.

Derpy and Rainbow finally brought the foals back into the cottage, not wanting to keep them in the shed for too long. Rainbow turned to Derpy, wanting to speak what was on her mind. "They all seemed… normal. Even though they're dead, it's like… they woke up from sleep."

"I thought Leon was talking crazy when he said to feed them some chickenfeed. Isn't this stuff only for chickens?" Derpy asked.

"Yes, Derpy. That's why 'chickenfeed' is on the bag. I wonder why only chickenfeed, though," Rainbow commented.

As they waited in the cottage, they each prepared a meal for themselves and the foals. Derpy began making muffins, of course, while Rainbow began to make some sandwiches. After a while, the meals were ready, and they served them to the foals. Dinky and Derpy sat together, and Rainbow and Scootaloo sat together, both pairs happily eating together. Eric was the only foal who was alone, and he lowered his ears in loneliness.

_Dad… Mom… they said they would always be there for me. Well... where are they at now?_ He walked out of the shed, and the others noticed as he did. They all followed him, and he stopped in front of the shed. He lowered his head in depression, and he pulled out the sickle he always had. They all ran up to him, and as they did, he cut a part of his foreleg, causing it to bleed. Derpy pulled the blade away from him, and Rainbow wrapped the foreleg with some cloth, but noticed something else on his foreleg other than the bleeding cut; a bite mark. Rainbow backed away from him slowly as she saw the bite, and he turned to all of them.

"Yes... it's there... surprised?" he asked gravely, his head lowered.

"Eric, what are you doing!?" Dinky questioned in shock.

"Releasing tensions," Eric said calmly, not looking up at them. He pulled the stained sickle back from Derpy, wiped the blood off with his hoof, and placed it away.

"Eric, what's going on with you!?" Scootaloo asked in fear.

He turned on all of them angrily, his eyes no longer the usual pale blue they were, but now a blood red. "You want to know what's wrong with me!? It seems that every pony here has a family left in this godforsaken reality now! You have Rainbow, Scootaloo. Dinky has Derpy, Alan has Leon and Draco, Applebloom has both of her siblings, and Sweetie Belle has Rarity. Who do I have… who do I have left to turn to!? No pony, that's who! Why am I still here if I have no pony left to be with!?" he asked angrily, removing the cloth tied around his foreleg as he did. His eyes flashed angrily red, and he grabbed his forehead with his cut foreleg. "AHH! No one..." he said, cringing in pain as he did.

"We're all looking after you, Eric!" Rainbow said. "But... when did you get bitten? And why haven't you told us?"

"Sometime after arriving here... I left to the shed. I raised my foreleg to one of those... monsters... and let them... because like them, all I am is a burden to each of you... you shouldn't be taking care of me," Eric said sadly. His foreleg was dripping blood now, and he pulled out the sickle yet again. He inspected it closely, and he angrily threw it onto the ground. "Just rubbish from the stallion and mare who gave it to me! Fucking assholes, leaving me here on my own!" he exclaimed in fury. He then turned towards the shed, tears in his eyes, and kicked the door open. He entered inside, quickly locking the door behind him, and the ponies outside banged on the door.

"Eric, come on out! Please!" Dinky pleaded.

Eric ignored them, and he saw the Control Freaks socializing with one another. His eyes flashed red, and he growled deep in his throat. He walked towards one of the shelves in the shed, and pulled out something that sent cold shivers down the Control Freaks spines; a chainsaw. He inspected it, and immediately he turned cold eyes on the Control Freaks. They had all noticed as he did, and they got nervous.

"Eric, what are you doing?" Applebloom asked nervously, cowering in the corner.

"It's all because of you… causing death and ravaging the town I once called home. I intend to repay the favor... and then leave along with you," he said quietly, as he pulled the cord on the chainsaw with his teeth. It immediately revved up and roared ferociously, and Eric picked it up and gripped it tightly in his mouth. The Control Freaks all backed away in fear, and trembled in place. They could not run away, as they were chained to the wall. Eric smiled dementedly, and he walked slowly toward Applejack, Applebloom, and Big Macintosh.

Draco, the only Control Freak who was hoof-cuffed rather than chained to the wall, quietly and slowly slipped away to the locked door, crawling as he did. He struggled as he reached in his chest holster for something, and pulled it out; keys to the hoof-cuffs. He quickly inserted the keys into the cuffs, and frantically wriggled them until they opened. He removed them, opened the lock to the shed door, and opened the door quietly. He went outside, and saw the other ponies trying to enter the shed. "You guys! Eric has completely lost it, and he intends to kill all of us!" Draco yelled out in fear.

The ponies rushed in, and saw Eric raising the chainsaw and lowering it down on Big Macintosh slowly. Eric yelled in a mixture of madness and pleasure as it sawed Big Mac completely in half vertically, sending blood flying everywhere. When Eric removed the chainsaw, the bisected corpse of Big Macintosh now split in half, releasing his organs onto the ground. Applebloom and Applejack screamed in horror, and Eric approached them next, soaked in blood and laughing dementedly.

He stopped approaching them, and instead turned around towards Rarity and Sweetie Belle, heading towards them. He raised the chainsaw over Sweetie Belle, but did not lower it yet. He spoke to her calmly. "Sweetie Belle… it's better that you don't stay like this. I thank you for the bite you gave me... but this… creature… that you are has an insatiable appetite, and it must be put down," he said casually. His eyes then flashed red, and he lowered the chainsaw quickly, but he received quite a shock. Rather than get Sweetie Belle, Eric had somehow sawed Rarity at her shoulder instead, sending blood flying from her. Rarity had stood between Eric and Sweetie Belle, and as Eric attacked, she had sacrificed herself to save Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle shrieked in horror as she saw her sister attacked right before her eyes, and Rarity, with her last breath, turned to Sweetie Belle.

"I'm sorry… Sweetie Belle…" Rarity then fell over, and died as Eric pulled the chainsaw out from her shoulder, and he still revved it.

"Shame… that was the beauty that I killed… not the beast… but no matter. Who's next in line?" Eric said conversationally, his white coat now soaked and dripping with blood and his eyes now consumed by the blood red glow of Runners. Sweetie Belle, who was now covered in blood and still clutching her sister's corpse, now looked back at Eric with horror. He raised the chainsaw over Sweetie Belle, ready and willing to add another body to his list.

Rainbow Dash, thinking quickly, picked up a can of paint from a shelf and kicked it hard it at Eric. It scored a direct hit on his head, and he fell over. He dropped the chainsaw onto the ground, and he landed next to it. The chainsaw continued revving in place, until the engine died out. The only noise in the shed now was the slow dripping of blood from the chainsaw and the silent cries of Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Applejack.

They rushed to Eric, finding him unconscious, but alive. He was bleeding from his nose, and they knew that the can must have struck him hard. They sighed in a mix of relief and horror, wondering what to think about how he just murdered Big Macintosh and Rarity. Derpy rushed the fillies out of the shed, silently sobbing as they did.

Draco stepped inside, now free of his shackles. He saw the corpses of Big Macintosh and Rarity, and turned to Rainbow. "What… happened?" Draco asked in horror.

Rainbow didn't respond at first, and then pointed to the corpse of Rarity and the already swarmed-with-flies gore pile that was once Big Macintosh, and still stood next to Eric, wondering what to do about him. "Four of us left… if he had been killed by that blow… and even then... he was bitten..." Rainbow didn't finish as Draco interrupted her.

Draco turned on her angrily. "No… there's nine of us left! Me, you, Derpy, Scootaloo, Dinky, Applejack, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and that fucking psycho! Don't you say that we aren't trying to stay alive as well!" Draco said angrily. He pulled a cigar from one of his pockets in his armor, and lit it using his flame.

Rainbow kicked the ground, and spoke again. "So we have to find that cure soon… otherwise there is no coming back, right?" she asked sadly.

Draco nodded grimly. He used the hoof-cuffs to cuff Eric, who had still been lying on the ground. "God, every pony's going insane. He's going to stay locked up, and whatever you do, do not release him." He placed the keys in his holster, and turned to Rainbow Dash. "You still got that Flameshot from the armory?" Draco asked.

"Yeah… why?" Rainbow asked confusedly.

Draco walked up to the shotgun that lay on the ground since Applejack shot herself. He picked it up, and walked up to Applejack, who was now sobbing along with Applebloom. "Applejack, where are the shells to the gun?" Draco asked her.

She looked up at him with sad eyes, and turned away from him. She answered him slowly. "They're… in the cottage… in the cabinet above the sink…" she explained, and continued sobbing.

Draco nodded, and picked up the chainsaw from the ground, and brought it with him into the cottage. He entered, and Derpy and the two remaining foals stared at him as he did. He walked into the kitchen, and opened the cabinet above the sink.

He found the case of 12-gauge ammunition, and placed them into a holster on his armor. He placed the chainsaw on the table, and pulled out the shotgun from his back. He pulled his combat knife, and heated it up to the point where it shone a bright orange red. He then began to saw the shotgun's barrel, and since the blade was heated, it didn't take as long as it would have. He then began to saw the gun's butt off as well, and after finishing, obtained his result. _Boomstick… This... is my Boomstick!_ Draco thought to himself, and he carved the word onto the shotgun's barrel. He holstered the weapon where his pistol once was, and proceeded with the chainsaw.

He stripped the chainsaw of its unnecessary components, including the outer shell and top handle. The removal of the components made the chainsaw possible to be equipped in one hand, which Draco did so. He held it in his right hand, and was now armed and dangerous. _What's one word to describe how badass this is? _Before he left the cottage, he picked up the Walkman on the kitchen table, and took it with him.

He stepped outside the cottage, and approached Rainbow. "You have to stay here. Watch that kid well... if he was bitten, then he's no doubt one of us already. I'm heading into town and facing the Shamblers. Whatever you do, don't follow me. I need you… safe…" He turned away, wondering if he should speak what was really on his mind. He looked down, and decided not to, sighing in disappointment as he did.

Rainbow tried to stop him, and he turned to her. "Draco, you don't have to do this. Stay here, where it's safe," Rainbow pleaded.

Draco shook his head slowly. "You all need to be safe from these deadheads, and I intend to make sure you do. I… I… I just can't explain it," Draco said in disappointment, and he turned away from her with regret. She looked back at him with sadness in her eyes. "Goodbye... Rainbow."

He walked away towards Ponyville, and looked to the town as he did. "Guess who's back in business?" he said to himself, heading slowly towards Ponyville with the intention of clearing it of every last Shambler and Runner inside.

...

He entered the town, and noticed that there were almost twice as many undead ponies than there were before. He walked amongst them, and they ignored him, considering he was undead himself. A Runner then approached him slowly, and looked him up and down. This Runner, the charred pony, was the same one that had turned on Leon just earlier, and his tongue was hanging low and swinging back and forth. "I know dead… when I see it! And you… aren't… dead!" the Runner said. He recognized Draco immediately as the one who burned off much of his body, and he smiled in joy as he would now obtain revenge. Draco then smirked, and approached the Runner slowly, drawing out the Boomstick.

"I think I've seen you before, but you're face seems to be broken." Draco said smugly.

The Runner glared at him, and roared loudly in fury. It got the attention of every Shambler and Runner in the square, and they all turned to the Runner who roared. The Runner then turned to Draco, and stated quietly, "Remember… me? If not, you may just call me… Wesker!"

"I don't know a Wesker," Draco said bluntly.

Wesker then pointed to Draco, and a group of thirty Shamblers surged towards him. He smiled, and he revved up his chainsaw with his right hand, and wielded the Boomstick with his left hand.

Draco turned to the Barrier, and he nodded. "I understand this fourth wall shit… I finally got it down." He then turned to the oncoming undead, and yelled out, "Come get some!"


	16. Your Fate is Sealed

**Hello, everyone! New chapter out, but in order to really get the gist of what's going on in this chapter, you will probably have had to read my first fanfic, as it uses elements and characters from there not introduced here. Otherwise, just enjoy this chapter!**

Magnus was waiting in the castle, with Spike guiding him towards Twilight's throne room. They entered, and found Twilight was pacing back and forth in the throne room. She saw the two enter, and she welcomed them with much fear in her voice. "Magnus… Spike… thank goodness you came!" she said relieved. She rushed to Spike, and hugged him tightly.

"Yeah, I told you I'd be coming," Spike said, a bit surprised at her sudden grasp.

"It's not when you arrived I was worried about. It's about if you arrived at all!" she said with tears in her eyes.

"What do you mean by that?" Magnus asked.

"Canterlot… has officially fallen to this disease," she said brokenheartedly.

"WHAT!?" Magnus and Spike exclaimed in disbelief. Spike then spoke up. "But it was completely untouched when we walked through town to arrive here!" Spike said.

"Doc told me that the outbreak occurred not long after you left, and now the whole town has been infected by Pinkie Pie," Twilight said sadly. "The only strongholds in the city now are the CDC, the castle, and the front gates."

"Wait… Pinkie Pie was at the CDC when Magnus left… wouldn't the disease have started there?" Spike asked.

"That's just it. She escaped into town, and when she went hungry, that's when the infection spread. They locked the CDC after that, and have been holding it off from the ponies outside," Twilight said.

"So the CDC is safe? That means... Alan and Doc... they still have to be OK…" Magnus said nervously, trying to reassure himself. "Twilight, what was it that you originally called me here for?"

"Magnus, I was going to inform you that there was a way to cure this disease," Twilight said.

"There is? That's incredible! What is it?" Magnus asked happily.

"I… I don't know. I've been desperately looking for the answer. But I know how the disease spread. I've read the details that Spike handed to me earlier before the contagion started. I've read anything and everything about the details before it started, and I found it out. When Alan brought the Amulet of Rebirth to your grave, it detected that he wasn't the bearer of the amulet, and so sent off a discharge. That discharge contained the evil that it contained from your control of the Amulet.

"When the evil energy hit the corpses of the ponies in the cemetery, it resurrected them. They only resurrected because they were possessed by demons created by some of our gods; the Four Horses. These demons, a combination of Death, Famine, and Pestilence, rose from the graves and roamed for a meal. That was just the beginning, unfortunately.

"When these possessed corpses bit into the live ponies, they spread their evil into their bodies, and within a few hours, the ponies would be fully turned. But there was a difference between the infected and the undead. The concentration of evil was not as strong for the infected as it was for the undead, so they could fight this evil magic and eventually gain control of themselves, but they would still have the evil present in them when they were weak in spirit, mind, or body.

"There was a way to fully exorcise the demons from the infected ponies, but so far... I've had no luck finding it. The undead ponies, unfortunately, had no way to remove the demons, and so need to be eliminated permanently," Twilight said, finishing her lecture. Magnus thought deeply, and spoke up.

"So these ponies were raised by the evil contained in the Amulet of Rebirth? Maybe that's the key to exorcising them... but… you said the undead ponies had no other way to be stopped other than to be killed again?" Magnus asked.

"Yes. I've looked for clues, anything that related to the Amulet of Rebirth stopping this demonic plague, but there weren't any," Twilight said sadly.

Magnus then looked down at his Amulet, and it shone brightly. His eyes widened, placing him in a trance. He continued viewing into the Amulet of Rebirth, and stood staring. Twilight and Spike noticed something was wrong with him, and they rushed to him. He was not paying attention to anything around him, however, and he continued to gaze into the Amulet.

…

Magnus looked around sometime afterwards, but saw only darkness. He walked a bit, and he bumped into something. He looked up, and saw the Amulet, larger than before. It glowed brightly, and replaced the darkness around him with a vision of what appeared to be a village in the past during the dark hours. He looked around, and noticed this village was burning brightly with flames that ravaged the town. In the town, ponies were being chased by Runners and Shamblers. The townsfolk then saw a hooded figure coming towards them, and they turned back to the Runners and Shamblers. They could not decide what was a worse way to go; the lone figure who stood shadowed in their way, or the group of savages chasing them.

The figure approached the ponies, but walked past them towards the Runners. He lifted off his hood, and Magnus instantly recognized him. It was Caelum, king of Caelum Lux for over a thousand or so years. He wore the Amulet of Rebirth around his neck, considering he was the Phoenix King at the time. It shone brilliantly in the night sky, and he used the magic from his horn and the magic of the amulet to blast the Runners with a red beam of light. It zapped the Runners, and when it did, it caused a black cloud of some sort to form around them. The cloud then phased and disappeared completely, and the Runners now lay unconscious. They stood up moments later, and looked around, and saw the Shamblers approaching them slowly. The newly exorcised ponies now took up arms, and charged at the Shamblers, attacking and dismembering them.

Caelum then turned to Magnus, and spoke calmly. "Now do you see what you must do?" Caelum said calmly. Magnus could not, and was completely confused on what Caelum meant.

"What happened here?" Magnus asked.

"The Black Plague happened, which occurred sometime when I was still around in medieval Equestria. Do you see that you are the only one who can cure the ponies?" Caelum asked.

"I don't understand… why can't Twilight, Celestia, or Luna do this?" Magnus asked.

"They all have their own roles to perform, Magnus. Celestia is the dawning of life, Luna is the dusking of life, Twilight is the balance between, and you are the manager of those who have passed. Those who have died prematurely are brought to you, and you have the option to bring them back, if they have been murdered. That is why when I died naturally, you rose from the ashes. When you died prematurely at the hooves of Don, you couldn't be brought back. The Four Horses knew this, and they had determined this as the only solution."

Magnus turned on Caelum. "So they kill every pony else just to bring me back!?" he yelled in anger.

Caelum nodded solemnly. "Yes, they brought you back. Now they ask that you help them in stopping this plague once again."

"Why should I? Why bring me back if every pony else is killed?" Magnus asked angrily.

"Because without you, the Four Horses cannot properly manage the deceased. You can, and considering you have the power, you can bring those who have fallen to this plague back to life," Caelum explained, trying to calm Magnus down. It worked, and the fire on his mane died off a bit.

"Are you sure? I haven't done this before, and I don't know how to manage souls," Magnus explained.

"You will soon. I had to learn as well... and when you do, you will be the judge of the forsaken souls. For this exorcism spell to work, you must meet the Four Horses," Caelum explained.

"So… kill the undead ponies, resurrect the devoured ponies, and exorcise the possessed ponies. Where? Where do I meet them?" Magnus asked.

"They all await you in Purgatory, north of here, past the Frozen North. Head there, and stop this plague," Caelum said.

"Wait... how can I perform the spell? I don't have a horn!" Magnus accused Caelum. Rather than answer back, however, Caelum shone the Amulet of Rebirth brightly on Magnus, and Magnus's eyes went blind for a moment.

…

Magnus regained his eyesight, and he looked around, back inside the throne room. He found Twilight and Spike closely inspecting him, and they stepped back when he moved again.

"Magnus, what happened!? You didn't move for the past five minutes, and we were worried," Twilight said.

"I know what I must do to end this plague. I'm heading to Purgatory, and I'm going to meet with the Four Horses. They will tell me how to end this, and I'll finally do what I was meant to do in this world," Magnus explained.

"Will you head there alone?" Spike said.

"Yes... I must go there alone. I don't know when, but I will be back. Remember, kill the Shamblers, and avoid killing the Runners unless it's absolutely necessary. Take caution, and good luck," Magnus said. He bid farewell to both of them, and bounded out of the throne room. He then headed outside the castle, and opened his wings. He took off from the ground, and flew north towards his destination; Purgatory.


	17. Brain Dead

Doc and Alan, along with the rest of the CDC employees, took shelter inside the building. The Shamblers restrained inside the building now moaned and neighed wildly. Doc heard a buzzing on the radio, and he answered it. "This is Doc! What is it, Spike!?" Doc asked desperately.

"Just got word from Twilight; there's no saving the Shamblers. Euthanize them, and kill the Runners," Spike called from the radio.

"Got it!" Doc said, shutting off the radio. "Listen up! I have received word from the princess! Euthanize all test subjects, except for TS #80NU5! Repeat, euthanize all test subjects except TS #80NU5!"

The workers, upon hearing this, all reached for lockers marked "Ethical Extermination Devices" and each pulled out shotguns. They loaded them, and the CDC workers approached each Shambler restrained, stuck a barrel to their heads, and blasted their brains out. Many shots rang through the facility, and Doc headed to the room Fluttershy was in, labeled TS #80NU5. He locked the door, and he stood guard by the door. "Fluttershy, you'll be safe here," Doc said.

"Doc, what's going on? Why are there a lot of noises outside?" Fluttershy asked shyly, fear in her voice.

"Nothing. Just ignore it, and it'll go away," he reassured her.

Alan was amongst the crowd of workers, and stood shocked that the once pristine walls of the CDC were now splattered with blood and brain matter. slowly dripping down the walls and ceilings. The CDC workers reloaded their weapons, and stood by the entrance to the facility, which now had many Runners banging on the doors, eyes glowing crimson. They aimed their weapons at the doors, and waited. Alan went to the room Doc was in, and he saw Doc turn to him. "How's the situation outside?" Doc asked.

"Not good! Runners are at the entrance, and they might break in soon!" Alan panicked.

"OK… I'll head out there. Alan, stay here. The door's going to be locked, so you'll be safe here. I'll be back," Doc said. Alan nodded as Doc exited the room and sealed the door shut with a lock.

Doc then ordered the CDC workers to ignore the entrance, and head into the basement. They complied, and he led them all into the basement. Inside the basement was an emergency exit outside of Canterlot, should the situation ever get so serious as to evacuate. He ordered the CDC workers to guard the basement area while he went back into the facility to gather Alan and Fluttershy.

He reentered the facility, and approached the room where the two ponies were. He unlocked the door, and entered. Alan approached him. "What's going on? What do we do?" Alan asked.

"We leave through the basement. Follow me, and stay close," Doc advised. He went to the restraints that held Fluttershy, and released her. She stood up slowly, and began to growl deeply, her eyes beginning to turn red as she did. Doc handed her an energy bar of some sort. She took it and ate it noisily, wrapper and all, curing her hunger. Doc then went to the locker inside the room, and pulled out two more shotguns. He handed one to Alan, and held the other one with his magic, dual-wielding a pair of shotguns.

He opened the door to the outer halls, and turned to the entrance. It seemed to crack a bit, and Doc knew there wasn't much time. He led the two ponies towards the basement, and just as he did he heard a loud crashing noise. He turned around, and noticed the Runners had broken through, and were now charging towards them. He quickly led the two into the basement, and locked the door behind him. The CDC workers turned towards him, and they pointed their weapons at Fluttershy. "NO! You have orders not to fire on her!" They lowered their weapons, and led the three to the exit. "Alan, start heading to the exit. Bonbon!" he called out as one of the workers headed towards him. She removed her mask, revealing a white earth pony with a dark blue and pink mane. "Protect him, and go through the exit."

"Got it!" she answered, and she started heading towards the exit with Alan. Alan turned back to Doc.

"Doc, what are you doing?" Alan asked.

"The other workers and I will try to eliminate as many Runners as we can before we fall back. Then we set the facility to self-destruct, and we flee. You need to get out of here first, so that you're guaranteed safety from the blast radius," Doc explained. Alan nodded sadly, and he followed Bonbon through the underground exit.

Doc then turned back to the sealed doors to the facility, and raised his guns with his magic, aiming to the doors. "Fluttershy, stay back!" he said. She nodded, and headed near the underground exit. The other CDC workers raised their weapons to the doors of the facility as well, and readied themselves. They all heard loud banging, and it stopped for a bit. Doc wondered what happened, and he listened closely. He then heard a loud popping noise, followed by air horns and party maker sounds. The door then burst open, and the Runners surged forward.

"Party cannon… always works!" Pinkamena said from the back of the crowd. She held back while the Runners surged forward, and the CDC workers fired into the large crowd. Many Runners fell over, but the waves continued. Some of the Runners got to the workers closest to them, and began biting them. The rest of the force of CDC scientists fired upon all of the Runners, while those who were bitten turned their shotguns on themselves and, not wanting to risk any further spread of the contagion, fired it into their heads, splattering more blood and gore in the basement.

Doc viewed the horrendous scene, and angrily fired both shells of one of his guns into the crowd, and as he reloaded that gun, he fired his other into the crowd. The Runners fell one by one, and Pinkamena's onslaught was beginning to fail. She then saw that she and three Runners were left, and they stood back from the wide open doors. She plotted a way to somehow get down into the basement without getting blasted. She turned to the Barrier, and announced, "Blasted… that's it! Brilliant!" she said triumphantly, rubbing her hooves together while sneering cleverly.

She headed back into the facility, grabbed some containers, balanced them on her nose, and brought them to the party cannon while the Runners looked on in fascination.

The CDC workers who remained and fired all their shots reloaded, while those who still had shells to fire aimed at the doors. Doc waited down near the exit, waiting for anything from the horde.

Pinkamena and two other Runners then dragged her party cannon forward, and she ordered them using hoof gestures and some growling to advise the Runners to pick up the corpses of their fallen. They did so, and brought them forward to Pinkamena. Without hesitation, she created some sort of tornado using herself around the cannon that collected the corpses, which blurred the view inside from the Runners. She then suddenly stopped, and the cannon was now crudely fixed with the corpses of some fallen Runners as meat shields, tied to the front of the cannon. "What can't I do?" she asked aloud happily to herself. She and the other Runners brought the cannon forward to the basement entrance, and waited to see how effective the shield would be.

The CDC workers fired their weapons at the makeshift shield, but to no avail, as the corpses where scattered with buckshot and damaged heavily rather than the Runners. Pinkamena smiled, and then loaded her cannon from the back with the chemicals she obtained from the facility. She then wrapped the chemicals with some intestines from the dead Runners, and stuffed the bloody, makeshift ammo into the cannon. "Bombs away!"she yelled as she fired the cannon, and the ammo she had inserted exploded wildly when it crashed into the basement wall, scorching much of the remaining workers down in the basement area. Pinkamena smiled widely as she heard the agonizing cries of pain from down below, knowing the workers were dying slowly and painfully.

Doc, Fluttershy, and the last remaining CDC worker left knew that they had to evacuate, and Doc led them both into the underground exit. He turned to Fluttershy, and held her closely. "Fluttershy, follow Colgate through the exit. I'm going to set the facility to self-destruct, and then I'll be back... I promise," Doc said sadly. She nodded, and followed Colgate through the exit.

Doc turned back to the basement, loaded his guns with two shells each, and went to a console near the exit. He pushed a few buttons, and a timer counting down for five minutes was set. He confirmed the order, and the timer began counting down. He saw the three Runners and Pinkamena heading down the steps into the basement, and Doc aimed his weapons. He fired the two shells from one of his guns, and took down two Runners with headshots. He raised his other gun, and fired one shell into the last Runner head's, exploding it violently. He aimed at Pinkamena, but she hopped, skipped, and jumped quickly, dodging the last shell.

She picked up the scorched corpse of one of the CDC workers, and tossed it at Doc. It landed on Doc, and he dropped his gun near the console. She laughed dementedly, and approached Doc slowly. "Have I ever told you the definition… of insanity!?" Pinkamena asked crazily. Doc struggled to get free, but when Pinkamena placed her hoof over the corpse that trapped Doc, he couldn't move. As he looked up, she took a bite out of the corpse on top of him, ripping a chunk out of the foreleg, revealing only scorched flesh and bone. "Ah… I love a good barbecue, especially when I do the cooking! Have you ever tried my secret recipe?" she asked casually.

He wondered why she was doing this. "Pinkie Pie, why? You know we can find a cure!" Doc exclaimed.

"It's Pinkamena…" she said as she pulled out a knife from her back. She then pierced it into Doc's shoulder, and he yelled out in agony. "It always has been… and don't you forget! Besides, forget a cure… this… this… food… it tastes so amazing! I've never even had cupcakes that tasted this good! Look around the room! I got a whole lot of grilled pony here!" Doc did so, and he saw the scorched corpses of the CDC workers, the intestines and blood splattered widely from the impact point of the cannon's projectile, and the many decapitated and blood soaked corpses of the Runners.

"You have a sick sense of joy, Pinkie Pie," Doc said, wincing in pain from his knife wound.

"Yeah, I do!" She pulled out the knife from Doc's shoulder, and raised it near his cranium. "Any last words before that luscious, delicious brain becomes part of a nutritious breakfast, Doc?" Pinkamena asked.

Doc closed his eyes slowly, and said, "Make it quick and clean, please."

"With pleasure!" a calm voice said behind Doc. Pinkamena looked up, and saw Fluttershy run towards Pinkamena. She tackled Pinkamena hard, sending her back a few feet and freeing Doc. Doc reacted quickly, and retrieved the shotgun he dropped on the ground using his magic. He then ran over to Fluttershy, who was being overpowered by Pinkamena. He used a powerful kick to send Pinkamena flying, quickly loaded a shell into his gun, and took aim at her. "Pinkie… this is your last chance! I don't want to do this!" he yelled with fear.

Pinkamena stood up, and struck the ground with her hoof, readying herself to charge. "Oh… you don't wanna do this… I'd like to see you stop me!" she said boldly. She stared Doc down, and snarled deeply and evilly. She then charged quickly towards Doc, and he stood ready. He waited, and when she got about two yards away, he fired the last shell from the shotgun, sending Pinkamena flying back. He trembled a bit as he did, placed the gun on his back, and he slowly approached Pinkamena to see what the damage was.

Pinkamena's corpse was now missing its head from the mouth up. Blood and brain matter was splattered from the open cranial cavity, and it continued to leak as Pinkamena twitched constantly. He turned back to Fluttershy, who had seen the entire grotesque display. She now had tears in her eyes, knelt down sadly, and broke down crying. Doc approached her, placed her on his back, and galloped through the exit, knowing he didn't have much time before the facility self-destructed.

…

Near the end of the underground exit, Doc and Fluttershy met with Bonbon, Alan, and Colgate. They all headed towards the end of the exit, and escaped Canterlot from the mountainside. They looked behind them to the ruined city behind them, and saw a brilliant beam of light emerge from it. Then a loud booming noise erupted from the area, and fire and smoke billowed from the explosion point. Doc looked down at the ground, and then lowered Fluttershy from his back. "That's it then… we now have to eliminate every undead pony we see," Doc said sadly. He turned to Fluttershy. "I don't understand… what happened in there before we fled? Why did you break down?"

Fluttershy looked up at him with tears in her eyes, and she couldn't stop. "I… I've never seen a pony die before… and when that happened to Pinkie Pie… oh… Pinkie Pie…" she stopped, and she couldn't continue as she sobbed loudly.

Doc nodded solemnly, and he nudged Fluttershy, trying to comfort her. "It wasn't your fault... it wasn't your fault," he said soothly, trying to put her at ease. He turned to the others, who were now at the ready. "Bonbon, Alan, Colgate… we're all heading to Ponyville… specifically to Fluttershy's cottage. There's been an established safe zone there, and we're going to survive this apocalypse." Doc reloaded his two shotguns as he said this, and the other ponies did so as well. They then turned to Ponyville, which was also billowing with smoke. They began to trek down the mountainside, and surprisingly ran into no trouble. When they finally reached the bottom of the mountain, they all walked along the base towards Ponyville. They approached the entrance to the town, and rather than go through the town, they walked along the edge of town towards Fluttershy's cottage.

…

They soon reached the cottage, and Doc approached the door. He knocked on it calmly, and a few seconds later, Derpy answered the door. She saw the ponies, and welcomed them all inside. They all entered, and Fluttershy quickly bounded into her kitchen, pulled out a lone muffin from the fridge, and devoured it noisily, her eyes red all the while. She then turned to Derpy questionably, wondering why only a muffin was in the fridge. "Well, I accidently emptied your fridge…" she said sheepishly, smiling widely. Doc looked around the cottage, and noticed that only Derpy and Dinky were present.

"Where is every pony else?" Doc asked.

"Rainbow Dash is in the shed feeding the ponies right now. Scootaloo is napping in the other room. That's all there is left," Derpy said sadly.

Alan was concerned that Eric was not mentioned. "What about Eric? Where is he?"

Derpy looked at him, and gave a silence. He took it as the answer he never wanted to hear, lowered his ears in sadness, and sat down quietly on a chair in the living room. He looked at the gun in his right wing, and he placed it down onto the table in the middle of the room. He raised his hooves to the side of his head, and looked down in sadness.

Fluttershy came out of the kitchen, and proceeded to feed all of her animals. After a while, she came back inside, and sat down with Alan in the living room. "Where is Big Macintosh? And Rarity… where is she?" she asked Derpy. Derpy turned to her, and answered.

"They… they didn't make it. They were killed by Eric before you came," Derpy explained.

Alan lowered his hooves, which were shaking heavily. He looked towards Derpy in surprise and shock. "Wait… killed... by Eric? So is that why Eric isn't here!? You killed him back!?" Alan asked angrily.

Derpy didn't respond at first. "He's locked up tight right now, in one of the rooms," she said.

"So is he alive or dead!? Tell me!" Alan ordered impatiently and harshly.

"Alive… but locked up," Derpy answered. Alan seemed to calm down a bit at hearing that, but he stood up and walked off into the rooms. The rest of the ponies settled in, because this was going to be one long wait until this was over.


	18. Stronghold

Draco was now holding the revving chainsaw in his right hand, and the Boomstick in his left. He raised the Boomstick and fired into the oncoming crowd of Shamblers, sending down two of them. He holstered the Boomstick, and pulled out the Walkman, and turned it on. It began to play "Down With the Sickness" loudly, and he smiled widely at the song that played. He raised his chainsaw with his right hand, charged towards the Shamblers, and began sawing many Shamblers in two. He slashed back and forth, sending blood and gore flying everywhere, much of it landing on him. He didn't mind, and he continued to saw at the Shamblers, creating a bloodbath in mere seconds.

The horde of thirty Shamblers was reduced to nothing more than a pile of organs, a large pool of blood, and the rotting remains of corpses now buzzing with flies in ten seconds flat. Draco turned to Wesker, and smiled. "I'm sorry… was that it? Because… I could've sworn that these walking shit stains would have put up more of a fight," Draco said cockily. Wesker stood calm, and he sent a wave of twenty more Shamblers and ten Runners.

Draco reloaded his Boomstick, and he aimed to the crowd. Rather than fire at the crowd, he put the Boomstick away, and breathed fire onto the Runners. They caught on fire, but continued advancing towards Draco. Draco revved up his chainsaw again, and thrust it into the closest Runner. It stuck completely through the Runner, and Draco held the Runner in position while he pulled out his combat knife. He stopped his chainsaw, using the Runner as a meat shield, while he approached the other Runners with his combat knife. Two Runners came up, and he slashed the knife across one Runner's eyes, spilling them out. He then thrust the knife into the other Runner's forehead, where it fell over dead.

Draco pulled out the Boomstick, and aimed it towards two more Runners that charged at him. He fired the shells into both of their craniums, causing them to burst out and send blood flying into the air and showering onto the ground. He then revved up his chainsaw again, and the Runner he used as a meat shield was now severed in half as he pulled the chainsaw up through the Runner. It split in half, and he readied himself to mutilate the other five Runners. He raised his motorized blade to them, and charged. He decapitated one's head clean off its neck, bisected one in half vertically, bisected one in half horizontally, thrust the motorized blade into one's head, and for the final Runner, used his wings to grasp its head and used a powerful kick to the head to send it flying away, draining blood as it did. "It's good!" Draco yelled out excitedly, as he turned back to the bloodbath behind him.

The Shamblers drudged onwards towards Draco, and Draco acted quickly. He ran back to the Runner corpses scattered about, and pulled out his combat knife from one of them. He then headed towards an overturned cart, and found an oven in it. He used his chainsaw to open it, and he pulled it apart. After a few seconds he found what he was looking for; the gas canister. He pulled it out, opened it, turned a dial, and heard hissing coming from the container. He threw it at the oncoming Shamblers, and quickly shot a fireball at the container. It reacted quickly, sending out light in all directions. The explosion was amazing, a mixture of smoke and fire billowing from the origin, and after a few seconds, rained charred limbs from the sky. Draco laughed heartily, and turned to the Barrier. "Who doesn't love a rainy day?"

He looked to Wesker, and Wesker glared a cold stare at Draco. He then walked away, but not before sending a group of flying undead marauders at him, chasing after Draco. Draco lowered his ears, and stood staring in surprise at the flying undead. "Oh, come the fuck on! Flying ones now!? What is the deal with these things!?" He knew when to give up, and now was the right time. He turned and ran away from the group as quickly as he could, shutting off the Walkman as he did.

He ran through the empty streets of Ponyville, with the constant roar of the flying beasts behind him following. He turned a corner into an alley with a dead end, and his spirit dropped. "Son of a bitch…" he said as he ran to the far end of the alley, waiting for them to show up. They did so, and began flying into the alley.

_If I'm going down, I'm going down fighting!_ He was about to rev up his chainsaw, when out of nowhere something pulled him onto the ground, and dragged him along the ground and into a sewage hole of some sort. He fell into the hole, and landed hard onto the cold, wet ground inside the sewer. He looked up, and saw the hole he entered through quickly covered. He turned around quickly, and he felt a hoof placed just above his snout. "Shush…" a voice said quietly.

He followed without hesitation, and heard the flying marauders flapping their wings over the sewer grate. After a while, the winged beasts eventually passed over the grate, and Draco sighed in relief. He turned back to the sewer, and saw the pony that advised him to quiet down. Draco couldn't believe is eyes; he saw standing in front of him Umbreus, a Changeling and pony hybrid who helped Leon years ago against Chrysalis. Since Leon's death, Umbreus had joined the Arcanes, the elite military of Caelum, as a covert ops specialist, and wasn't heard from for three years. This was evidenced by the combat armor Umbreus was wearing; a pitch black stealth suit with body armor sewed underneath.

"Umbreus? What are you doing here in Ponyville? Shouldn't you be in Caelum with the Arcanes?" Draco asked amazedly.

"No… I was stationed here about a few weeks ago. Besides, I enjoyed it here… well, before it all went to hell." Umbreus stopped as he saw Draco's combat armor. "You son of a bitch! You never told me you were in Canterlot's Royal Guard."

Draco looked at his armor. "I'm not. I geared up from their armory, but I thought the armor was pretty bad ass anyways. What's the deal with yours?" Draco asked.

Umbreus looked at his own suit of combat armor. "It's a heavily modified stealth suit from Philanthropy. The Arcanes added titanium plates embedded within the actual suit, and with both of those combined, this suit is maneuverable, durable, and stealthy. It worked wonders on my operations. So, are you the only one left above ground, or are the Searchers gathered somewhere?"

"I'm not alone in the wastes. The others are at Fluttershy's cottage, and I came back here to clear the town of every last Runner. What's the deal as to why you're down here?" Draco asked.

"Some other survivors and I took refuge here. Surprisingly, a sewer is safe from the undead outside." Umbreus turned back, and urged Draco to follow him. Draco did so, and Umbreus led him through the sewers. Draco was disgusted by the smell of the underground maze, and how disgustingly warm and soft the ground turned as they made their way through the sewer, knowing it could only be one thing. He then stopped at a corner, and lifted a hatch, which they both entered. Draco looked around, and saw three other ponies inside the room.

Draco recognized all of them. One of the ponies there was Lyra Heartstrings, who had with her a hatchet holstered at her side, bloodstained. Draco recognized Cheerilee as well, tired and weary, with a baseball bat strapped to her back. The last member of the small group Draco saw was Mayor Mare, who had strapped to her back a cleaver. All three of them were completely out of spirit and energy, and the two walked over to them.

"You guys, Draco here just put a large dent in the undead population. Let's make him feel welcome at HQ," Umbreus said. The other ponies greeted him, and he greeted them back. He pulled out a cigar from one of his holsters, and lit it using his flame.

"So… this place is secure, you said?" Draco asked.

"Yeah, it is. The only entrances to the safe room are the one we came through and the one that leads to the Hoofer Dam just outside of town. Why do you ask?" Umbreus questioned.

"I know this may be asking too much of you, but I need to bring in our group from the cottage. We need to get them out of there and into a safer outpost. We'll bring in food for all of you… we have plenty of it at the cottage," Draco said.

"Honestly, if you can just get all of them down here safely, then it's no problem. It's even better if you bring food down here too… we're almost out. But we'll have to exit through the dam. There's too many… what did you call them earlier?"

"Runners… those things sprinting outside were Runners. The slow moving ones are Shamblers, and those flying ones… huh… I don't know… I think I'll call them Predators," Draco explained.

"Right… we'll have to exit through the dam, and from there head along the river towards the cottage. Then we head back through the dam down here. How many of you are there?" Umbreus asked.

Draco thought about whether to tell Umbreus whether there were five left alive or nine ponies in total. "Well, there are five of us alive… and four of us… restrained," Draco said slowly.

"What do you mean by restrained?" Umbreus asked doubtfully.

Draco hesitated before he answered. "They're… infected. But as long as they eat chickenfeed, they'll be all right." Draco had covered up the bite mark on his neck with a skull face cover the combat armor provided.

"If they eat chickenfeed, then we should be all right. Is there a way to restrain them as a backup plan?" Umbreus asked.

"Yeah, there is. Chains and hoof-cuffs will keep them at bay, but as long as they're not hungry, they'll remain calm. Can it be done?" Draco asked.

"They'll have to be placed in the other safe room, but I'll get them in here somehow," Umbreus stated.

Draco smiled and laughed a bit. "Umbreus, you don't know how happy I am to hear you say that!" Draco exclaimed happily.

Umbreus nodded, and went over to a nearby crate. He opened it, and pulled out a katana of some sort inside a sheath, which he strapped to his midsection. "Follow me closely. When we arrive at the Hoofer Dam, the gates will need to be drained in order to power the generators down here, prevent it from breaking down, and flooding the entire town. When the gates do drain, we'll then head along the river to Fluttershy's cottage. When we head back here, we'll have to be quick. Nighttime is bound to hit soon, and I don't wanna be out there when it does, OK?" Umbreus explained.

"Yeah, I gotcha." Draco then snickered a bit. "I thought you liked hiding in the dark, Umbreus."

"Yeah, that's when things didn't go bump in the fucking night. Let's head out now," Umbreus said. He informed the others that he was heading out, and they nodded in conception. Umbreus then led Draco trough the safe room and through more corridors, before they reached a large metal door. Umbreus pushed a button on the wall, and the door lowered with a hissing noise, revealing yet more corridors. They stepped out, and shut the metal door back up.

"What the fuck's with all the maze-like hallways?" Draco asked.

"I honestly have no clue. But I memorized all of them, and I know my way around the passage," Umbreus responded. They turned right, and continued until they reached another metal door. They opened it yet again, and it lowered to reveal a control room of some sort filled with monitors, consoles, and switches and buttons undoubtedly for the dam.

Umbreus went up to one of the consoles, and used his horn's magic to turn dials, lower switches, and finally pull a lever. The monitors in the room now showed three of the dam's gates being lowered a bit, and much water released further into the river. Since the monitors played no sound, the two were unaware how loudly the water surged out of the dam, and many Shamblers near the river took notice of this. They began to lurch towards the dam slowly, and created a large horde in mere moments.

Umbreus then raised the gates using the console, and he went over to a door on the other side of the room. "All right, let's start heading out," Umbreus said, and he motioned for Draco to follow him. Umbreus opened the door, and they stepped outside into the afternoon sun. They looked around, and saw no Shamblers or Runners in sight. They both moved quickly along the river, and began to head back to Fluttershy's cottage, not knowing of the impending danger slowly heading towards the dam.


	19. Dead Snow

Magnus flew for some time now, heading north from Canterlot. His wings were growing weary, and he desperately needed to rest them, so he flew down from the clouds. He saw the landscape below was covered in ice and snow, and he cursed to himself as he now had to trek through the frozen tundra to get to Purgatory.

He slowed his descent downwards, and he finally landed on the cold, damp snow. He shivered violently, his body trembling heavily even with the fire burning from his mane. He drudged slowly through the snow, his energy slowly draining from him. He wasn't hungry, but his body was steadily growing weaker and weaker.

_I need to find a way to keep myself from passing out, otherwise I'll freeze out here to death._ He continued drudging onwards. The weather for now was clear with the afternoon sun hitting the white landscape, and he continued heading northbound.

The flame from his mane was slowly dying, and he knew that he was dying as well, but he wouldn't give in. He then saw a glowing light of some sort, dim but surely real. Still shivering and shaking violently, he headed towards the dim light. He drudged more through the snow, until he arrived at the source of the light. It was a campfire of some sort, with a metal rack holding some bowls, a saddlebag, and a ladle, and a small cauldron hanging just above the flame. Magnus looked around, but could find no pony around. He sat beside the fire, warming himself up and causing his mane to burn brightly again. He peered into the cauldron, and saw only clear water boiling inside.

He looked around again, before deciding that no pony would come, and he grabbed one of the bowls on the metal rack with one of his wings. He grasped the ladle with the other wing, and began to scoop some of the water in the cauldron and pour it into the bowl. He placed the ladle back on the rack, and proceeded to drink the warm water. He poured the contents of the bowl down his freezing throat, and he felt much more refreshed and warmed after drinking the water. He placed the bowl back on the rack, and relaxed by the fire for a few more moments, warming every part of his body. He finally had his fill of comfort and relaxation, something he had not felt in a long time.

He stood up with more energy and spirit now. "Whoever made this fire… thank you," Magnus said to himself. He turned to leave, but did not know which direction was north. He groaned, and looked around the campfire for anything that could help him. He decided to check the saddlebag, and looked through it for anything that could help him.

He searched through the bag, finding food, hatchets, winter clothing, and some kind of journal. He continued searching through the bag, until he found what he was looking for; a compass. He grinned in satisfaction, and used it to see which direction was north. It pointed to his left, and he nodded. He turned north, and marked on the snow the direction that was north. He then placed the compass back, and turned to his marker.

His curiosity got the best of him, and before he left, he pulled out the journal that he found. He opened it, and found that the first two pages were full of writing. He began to read the journal:

_Day 1- I seem to have woken up in a strange place. I was trapped in a room of some sort, and before I knew it, I busted out of it. I hadn't had a meal in a while, and when I saw a meal, I proceeded to eat it peacefully. I was interrupted by a hoof that punched me, and before I knew it, I was attacked by a strange pony that had torn flesh and bone sticking clear out of his body. After quite a struggle, I had defeated the pony. Fortunately, I received no wounds. As for the other pony, well, he wasn't so lucky. I then left towards a nearby town called Ponyville, hoping to catch a sense of relief._

_As soon as I had entered, though, I was imprisoned yet again, this time by a mare named Claire that was alone in the town. I explained to her my situation, and she released me. We both travelled together through the town, figuring out why it was empty. It turns out a riot of some sort had cleared the town, and all that remained were the bones of those who once lived there. We continued until we reached the town hall, where we stayed with another mare named Jill and a group of ponies. This lasted until we were attacked, and we were forced to flee. Two of the ponies in our group had unfortunately perished during the raid, and we trekked back to the mare's cottage._

_Day 2- After arriving again at the cottage of the mare I met yesterday, I had to properly detain the bodies of the two deceased. After proper burials for each of them, I decided to head back into the empty town to fetch supplies. It turns out the town wasn't empty at all, and before I knew it, those ponies with the torn skin attacked me yet again, and after a narrow escape, I returned to the cottage with the supplies._

_The mare that we found in town hall yesterday, Jill, attacked me when I arrived, and the mare who owned the cottage, Claire, stepped in front of her when she attacked. In my rage, I… attacked and murdered Jill. I went over to Claire, and… she died in my hooves. I… I had never felt pain like that, and so I wandered into the tundra… alone. I… I plan on escaping this madness… by taking the easy way out. For now, though, I write in this journal, hoping that whoever may find it may avoid all that has happened to me. I leave to you the campfire, the food, the water, and the tools I have brought with me. I will no longer need them… please… avoid what I have been through. My name is Chris, and… and… I'm sorry._

Magnus looked through the journal, and lowered it slowly. _It seems that this plague has affected every pony… but it only seems to be around Ponyville… because of the Amulet. It only happened within a matter of two days... all of it... _He took off the amulet slowly, and his mane and tail stopped breathing out flames. His yellow hide was turning back into the light silver-grey it was originally, and his mane and tail turned back to their original black and yellow color. Leon now stood in place of Magnus, and he took the saddlebag that hung on the metal rack.

He took out the winter clothing: a set of four socks, four wool boots, a scarf, and a winter cap, and placed them on. He strapped the saddlebag onto his back, and placed the journal and bowls back into the bag. He took one more drink of water from the cauldron, and readied to leave. He turned towards the marker he placed, and headed off in that direction. He was much warmer now, and he would maintain this warmth now due to his clothing. He trotted straight from where he placed his marker, and journeyed through the frozen tundra.

He noticed that the wind was now blowing hard, and a blizzard was beginning to pick up, making it difficult to see now. Leon traveled through the snow, but couldn't see anything in front of his nose. He pulled out the compass from the saddlebag, and saw he was still heading north. He continued gazing at the compass, until he bumped into something.

He looked up, and fell backwards into the snow quickly and panicked, gasping in shock. He saw in front of him a Runner, pale and a sickly bluish-grey, but something was wrong with it. It was moving, but only ever so slightly. It was facing away from Leon, and it couldn't turn around quickly. Leon wondered why it was so slow, and then it hit him. _It has something to do with the Runners' corpses freezing from the inside, and their movements being only minimal._ The Control Freak turned to him, his eyes a dull blue color, and rather than growl at Leon, he spoke with a stammer. "Who… whoever you are… end it… end it now… please."

Leon stood up again, pulled out a hatchet from the saddlebag, and raised it over the Control Freak's head. "Are you sure? There may be a way to help you."

The Runner looked down onto the ground. "Yes… please… I… I can't live… as one of them. Not… not after my loss… please. Use… my hatchet… and end it." Leon then realized this Control Freak must've been Chris. Leon nodded, and then brought the hatchet down quickly onto Chris's head, cleaving it in half. The head opened widely, revealing the brain, also cleaved in half, sporting a sickly, dark blue color. Since the body was frozen, no blood surged from the open gash, and Leon pushed the corpse down onto the ground, where it fell, finally at peace. _Hopefully, you have a better afterlife, Chris._ He left the journal on Chris's carcass, and turned north again.

Leon continued through the snow, following the compass as it pointed him north. He continued until he saw what he was looking for. He saw in front of him a large, dark, ominous, and looming castle. _Purgatory… this must be it._ He walked up to the base of the mountain that the castle rested on, and he opened his wings to fly upwards toward the entrance. He flew high, and when he saw the entrance, he lowered his descent and landed at a large, wooden doorway. He landed on the ravine that marked the entrance to the foreboding castle, and he wondered whether he should knock or if he should wait. He decided to wait, and he saw some movement in one of the windows above the doorway. He waited some more, and after a few seconds, the doors opened upwards slowly, making a large groaning noise as it did, allowing Leon entrance. Leon stepped inside, and the doors to the castle fell quickly and slammed shut, creating a large booming noise that caused Leon to jump out of fear.

Leon looked around the large hall for anything or any pony, but no pony was around. He then saw a door open at the end of the hall, and four equine figures emerged from within. Each of them were glowing brightly a different color; one was glowing a bright, sickly yellow, one was glowing a bright, fiery red, one was glowing a dark, pitch black and the final was glowing a bright, pale green color. They approached Leon slowly, and the red one stumbled a bit before it tripped and fell over, knocking over the yellow one as well. "Dammit, War, you always do this!" the yellow one complained.

"Well, you're the one who smells like some horseshit dried up on the road! You just happened to walk past me, and my eyes burned!" the red one retorted.

"You're both idiots! You're making fools of me and Death in front of our guest!" the black one scolded.

The green one merely shook his head, and they all continued advancing towards Leon. Leon turned to the Barrier with a smirk. "These horses are gods? I guess we were doomed from the start."

The four finally stood magnificently in front of Leon, and they stared him down. "You weren't who we were expecting, mortal," the black one said menacingly.

Leon at first stared at them confusedly, but then remembered he had taken off the Amulet. He removed his winter clothing, placed them in the saddlebag, took out the Amulet, and placed it on. He transformed once more into Magnus, and stood taller now.

"Whoa! That… was fucking amazing!" the red one said admiringly. "I love the flames… don't you think they're badass?"

The yellow one groaned, and turned to him. "War, stop it! We're not supposed to be impressed at what a mere mortal can do!" the yellow one said in a whiny voice.

The black one face hoofed himself, and groaned. "Pestilence, you fool! Can you not see that this is Magnus, the reborn Phoenix Bearer?" the black one scolded.

Magnus bowed in respect to the four horses. "What… what is he doing, offering me a quickie?" the red one asked sarcastically, snickering afterwards.

The green one shook his head, and thwacked the red one on the forehead. The black one motioned for Magnus to stand, and he did so. "Magnus, welcome back to the living. I believe you know who we are, but if not, allow me to introduce ourselves. I am Famine, the first of the Four Horses." Famine pointed to the fiery red one next. "This stupid and immature fool is War, the second of the Four Horses."

"I'm not stupid, I'm gifted! Not like this whiny bitch here!" War replied, pointing to the yellow one.

"Oh, you're fucking gifted all right, you stupid prick," the yellow one replied.

Famine turned to both of them, grasped their heads, and slammed them into each other. "Hey, quit it! You know that hurts!" the yellow one said, rubbing his head with his hoof.

"You're both gods… act like it!" Famine yelled.

"I am! I'm acting like I have unlimited power and don't give two shits about it!" War replied coolly. This earned him a punch from the green one, and War stopped speaking.

Famine turned back to Magnus, muttering in restrained anger as he did, and pointed to the yellow one. "This whiny she-devil is Pestilence, the third of the Four Horses." Pestilence's only response was to glare at Famine. Famine then pointed to the green one. "The only good sibling of mine, Death, is the last of the Four Horses." Death simply nodded, and Famine had finished making the introductions.

"He doesn't talk much, does he?" Magnus asked, referring to Death.

"No, he doesn't. If you are here because Caelum sent you, then you know why we brought you back," Famine stated.

Magnus nodded. "Is this Purgatory?" he asked.

Famine shook his head. "This is the gateway to Purgatory, otherwise known as… 'The Gateway!'" he announced proudly. Magnus looked at him questionably, and turned back to the Barrier, raising an eyebrow. "You will enter Purgatory, Magnus, as you have done so before as Caelum. You are to learn of this plague, learn of your exorcism spell, and manage the souls lost to this plague. Are you ready, Magnus, to enter Purgatory?" Famine asked gravely and seriously.

Magnus stood sternly, and nodded. The Four Horses then turned to a nearby wall, and each of them chanted some kind of phrase in Pony Latin. After finishing their chant, the wall opened slowly and widely, revealing a blue aura. The Four Horses entered the portal, and urged Magnus to follow, and he did so. He did not know what awaited him in Purgatory, and he was both nervous and excited as to what it held inside.


	20. Siege

Draco and Umbreus continued along the river in the afternoon sun, which was slowly sinking in the sky. Draco noticed that he hadn't been hungry for almost a day or two, and he wondered why. _Maybe it was that large gem meal I had the night when all this shit happened._ They continued down the river, and Umbreus spoke up. "So… I noticed you're bitten… when were you planning to tell me that?" Umbreus asked, a bit more than irritated and angry.

Draco turned to him. "I wasn't planning on telling you, because it doesn't matter."

"What do you mean it doesn't matter? It doesn't matter that you become one of them and kill all of us!?" Umbreus responded harshly.

"No… not that. It doesn't matter because I already am one of them."

Umbreus registered confusion, and cocked an eyebrow. "You mean… you're under control of yourself like you said the others were earlier?"

Draco nodded solemnly. Umbreus turned back forward. "Well, I've known you for a long time, Draco, and I know you wouldn't put any of us in danger. But how come you didn't say anything earlier?" Umbreus asked.

"This plague's driving every pony crazy, that's why. Eric fucking sawed Big Mac in half and killed Rarity. I don't know what they ended up doing to him, but that's what this situation is doing to us," Draco explained.

"Percy's kid… he killed them… with a saw!?" Umbreus asked in disbelief.

"Yeah… he did it. I have the chainsaw that did it right here," Draco said, lifting up the bloodstained chainsaw with his right hand. Umbreus slowly shook his head at the sight of it.

"FUBAR… that's what it is," Umbreus replied.

"FUBAR?" Draco asked in confusion.

"Fucked up beyond all reason… a term Cloud and I came up with in the Arcanes. Sometimes we'd deal with some seriously messed up shit… just nothing like this." Umbreus now checked something on his waist, and he continued walking.

Draco wondered what he checked. "Hey… what was that on your waist?" Draco asked.

"Hmm? Oh, you mean this," Umbreus responded as he showed Draco a sheathed blade. "It's a blade I carry along with the katana. Since I'm second-in-command of the Arcanes, I know things that others shouldn't know. So if I get captured, I would use this to disembowel myself," Umbreus explained.

"What!? Why would you do that?" Draco asked in horror.

"Like I said, I know things others shouldn't know, specifically the Changelings. I die without them ever knowing. Cloud thinks it's too extreme, but I've been confident that it would never happen. Sometimes, though, I use it along with the katana to have two blades at once. Being in the military has its pros and cons, you know," Umbreus said with enthusiasm.

Draco nodded solemnly, and they continued along the trail. Umbreus stopped him with his hoof, and pointed towards the shed near Fluttershy's cottage. "Hold up… that place… something about it rubs me the wrong way."

"That's Fluttershy's shed. That's where the infected are locked up," Draco explained. Umbreus nodded, and continued along until they reached Fluttershy's cottage. "OK… let's see how they're all doing since I left," Draco commented.

He opened the door to the cottage, and both of them entered. They saw the masked CDC workers, but no one else around. The scientists saw the two as well, and both sides pulled out their weapons; Draco with his Boomstick and Umbreus with his katana, and the CDC workers with their shotguns. "Where are they at!? What did you do to them!?" Draco yelled out in fury, aiming the Boomstick at them. Umbreus remained calm, but still held his katana at the ready.

"Put the weapon down or you die!" one of them announced, not at all pleasantly. Another of the masked workers, this one wounded on the shoulder, came from the hall, and turned to the two who entered.

"Lower your weapons… he's fine," he announced. He removed the mask, and Draco saw it was Doc. As he said this, they lowered their weapons.

"Thanks, Doc," Draco responded.

"Doc? What in the hell? It's been years!" Umbreus said goodheartedly.

"Umbreus? Shouldn't you be in Caelum with the Arcanes?" Doc responded.

"Why do they always say that? No, I was relocated here. As a matter of fact, we came down here to bring you back with us," Umbreus said.

"Bring back where?" Doc said.

"The Hoofer Dam. If we can get you all there, and bring some supplies, then we'll be set," Umbreus answered.

"Well, I'd love to head there, but we have problems of our own to deal with first. We have the ponies in the rooms, and I don't think we can move all of them safely to the dam. Plus, with Eric in hoof cuffs, we're more vulnerable than before. I was surprised when I saw Percy's son locked up… then I heard what happened," Doc explained, turning a bit away.

"Well, we need to get out of here before dark; otherwise we're in big trouble," Umbreus said.

"OK… let me get them all ready." Doc left to the rooms, and gathered the remaining uninfected ponies, including Eric, who was now wrapped in a straitjacket. He remained calm and collected, and greeted Draco.

"Welcome back, dragon… I've been waiting for you to return… now the shed is complete again," he said eerily. Draco winced a bit at hearing this. Alan rushed to Draco, happy to see him standing, even if he was dead. He embraced Draco, and Draco returned it.

"Draco… don't ever leave again… please," Alan pleaded, tears running down his eyes.

"I won't… I can't leave you behind, kid," Draco responded sincerely.

Rainbow Dash was also happy to see the safe return of Draco, and he embraced her as well. She then punched him in the arm, and seemed a bit upset and irritated. "Never storm off like that again, you got that!?" she asked seriously.

"I don't plan to anymore… I'm sorry about that," Draco responded.

Umbreus turned to Doc. "What about the infected in the shed? Can we somehow bring them along too?" Umbreus said.

"I don't know… Fluttershy's been feeding them for a while… if they don't go hungry, we could," Doc responded.

"Good… any supplies you need to bring, get them now. We won't be coming back here, so make sure to get anything important. We'll have the foals and supplies in the center of the convoy. Rainbow Dash, Derpy, and Draco, you monitor from above. Doc, you and your crew surround the foals. I'll lead the pack to the dam, and the infected will take the back. Any questions?" Umbreus asked. No one responded.

"Good… then let's get ready to leave now."

…

After the survivors packed their provisions and supplies, they entered the shed. They fed all the infected ponies that remained, and did not release them until they were completely satisfied. Umbreus then formed a long, chain length to hold the infected down if they should revert back to beasts. He tied the chain around each of the infected, and tied the end of the chain to the supply cart.

Rainbow Dash carried her Flameshot out, and flew up with Derpy and Draco. Doc, Colgate, and Bonbon carried their shotguns and encircled the cart. Alan, Dinky, Scootaloo, and Eric gathered at the center. Umbreus drew out his katana, and stood in front of the convoy. After all of them made sure to bring whatever they needed, Umbreus began the charge, and led the group along the river towards the dam.

…

After some time of traveling, the infected ponies behind the cart started to rear up, and the survivors turned their attention towards them. They noticed they did not growl or moan, but remained tense. "What's the matter?" Doc asked.

"Something… something's coming, y'all," Applejack said. She reared up yet again, along with the other Control Freaks. "I… I can hear them… AHH!" she yelled out as she tensed up and bucked even more wildly now. The other Control Freaks joined her, neighing crazily and rearing up frantically. "Hurry! They're coming this way! AHH!" she yelled again as she clenched her head.

All of the survivor ponies surrounding the convoy readied their weapons, and moved at a much faster pace. "Come on! We got to get a move on! We're only about a mile away from the dam now!" Umbreus announced. They quickly followed him, and he continued along the path hurriedly.

They all stopped when they heard a large crash behind them. They all turned behind them, and saw a large horde of Shamblers, Runners, and Predators, all led by a single, charred unicorn without a jaw. Though they outnumbered the survivors, they made no move yet. The unicorn Shambler stepped forward, and stood tall as the survivors aimed their weapons at him, ready to fire. He showed no fear… no emotion, and he spoke with trouble. "We know you have the dragon… conscious ones… give him to us… and you shall leave alive…" Wesker said raspily.

All of the ponies turned to Draco, and turned back to Wesker. "No… you aren't getting him…" Rainbow Dash piped up. Draco turned up to her in surprise.

"No… stay out of this, Rainbow." He then stepped towards Wesker. "You want me, then? I'm right here…" he said boldly. Doc was the next to intervene.

"Draco… don't do it," Doc said cautiously and quietly. Draco turned to him, and lowered his voice.

"Doc… when I say so… take every pony, Fluttershy, and the two infected foals, and leave as quickly as you can. Got it?" Draco whispered. Doc gave him a look of surprise, but rather than disagree, he nodded. Draco turned to Applejack, and his eyes flashed red for a moment. Applejack acknowledged this by flashing her eyes red as well, and he nodded.

Acting quickly, Draco pulled out his shotgun, aimed it at the chain that held Applejack, and fired. The chain immediately broke off of Applejack, and she rushed towards Draco. As she did, Wesker used his magic to signal the Runners to charge the group. Draco revved up the chainsaw and tossed the Boomstick to Applejack. She caught it in her teeth, then held it in one hoof, and turned to the other survivors. "Go now! Head to the dam! Me and Draco here will hold 'em off…" she advised the others quickly. Draco was busy sawing some of the charging Runners into piles of blood-soaked giblets.

Without hesitation, every pony but Applebloom bounded down the trail. "Didn't you hear me Applebloom? Go to the dam!" Applejack ordered.

"No way sis! I can't let you fight all of them…" Applebloom argued.

"I told you to go… now! I ain't gonna lose you again, Applebloom…" Applejack said sadly. She turned and fired on a Runner that got too close, and turned back to Applebloom. "Well… what're waiting for!?" Applejack asked harshly. Applebloom looked sadly upon her sister, and nodded. She then bounded down the trail, following the rest of the group.

Applejack and Draco now stood together, fighting off the Runners with their respective weapons. "Applejack… for whatever it's worth… I think you're pretty fucking cool…" Draco said. Applejack grinned widely, and fired more shells into the oncoming horde.

"Yeah… you were the better dragon in my opinion…" she replied. They saw the Predators now rain down on them, diving straight towards them. Applejack loaded more shells into the Boomstick, and fired at the Predators above.

Wesker took advantage of the distraction, and used his magic to teleport directly behind the two Control Freaks. He then readied his horn to pierce Draco, and stabbed him in the back. "AHH! YOU SNEAKY MOTHERFUCKER!" Draco yelled out in pain, reaching for his back quickly.

Wesker quickly pulled his horn back, and Draco spun around quickly. He thrust his chainsaw into Wesker, but nothing happened. Draco pulled out the chainsaw, and the Wesker he saw dissolve before his eyes in a puff of smoke. "What the fuck?" he said in confusion. Wesker then appeared behind Draco yet again, and again thrust his horn into Draco's backside. "AHH! COME OUT AND FIGHT LIKE A STALLION!" Draco challenged, reaching to his back again. He slashed again at Wesker, but again it was only a decoy. _How does he do that!?_

Applejack finished with the Predators, and turned her attention to Draco, who was being too distracted with a single unicorn to notice the Runners that approached him closely. "Draco! Watch out!" she yelled out to him, pointing behind him to the oncoming horde. He turned quickly, and raised his chainsaw towards them, but they reacted quickly. One of them used their teeth to grab the blade by the sides, where the motorized chains span around harmlessly in their maw. The other Runners grasped onto Draco's arm, and began to bite into it. Even though he was a Control Freak, they seemed to enjoy the satisfaction of their hunger. Draco tried pulling back, but they continued chewing his arm. "DAMN! THEY WON'T BUDGE!"

He had about four Runners grabbing his arm, and he acted quickly. He pulled out his combat knife with his left hand, turned to his assaulted right arm, and began severing his right arm off at the shoulder. He yelled in pain as he did, and green blood sprayed constantly from the gash he created. He was halfway through, when the Runners finished the job by pulling his right arm free of its socket, muscle and tendons tearing from it. As they did, they converged on it, their hunger blinding them from their original target. Draco watched in horror as they did, and was breathing irregularly. He snapped out of it though, and he quickly turned to Applejack. "Let's get out of here now!" he yelled to her.

She saw the desperate action Draco pulled, and she stood shocked, almost horrified at first. She then nodded, and they both sprinted away from the horde, Draco bleeding out as they did.

Wesker turned to them, and smiled wickedly as they fled. _Yes… run now, dragon. Flee… for I now have a suitable trophy for myself…_ he thought to himself, heading towards the Runners that surrounded his severed arm and chainsaw. He reached in, and pulled out a bony arm, picked clean of flesh and blood. He raised it high into the air, and roared loudly. Every Runner turned to him, and he stood tall in front of them. He used his magic to send them a message. _All of you! Calm yourselves! We will get these last few ponies, if it's the last thing we do! They have left us the perfect tool of destruction… their blade of oblivion! We will use it… to destroy their stronghold… and then… carve our dinner with it! But for now… we shall dine in Ponyville._

They all roared and neighed in response, using it as a disturbing cheer. Wesker then took the skeleton arm with him, and he led the large horde back to Ponyville to regroup and refuel for another onslaught.


	21. No Place Like Home

Magnus entered the portal to immediately find it was not as he expected. He had initially thought Purgatory was either going to be a bright and social locale or a cold and dark pit of despair, but it was neither of those things. Instead, Purgatory was a vast plane of white and emptiness, filled with many ponies that stood waiting and wandering. "What the fuck is this!?" Magnus asked irritably.

"This is Purgatory… what did you expect, Magnus?" Famine asked questionably.

"I expected a lot more than this… great, big, vast nothingness. What gives?" Magnus asked.

"Ah… but you haven't seen everything yet…" Famine said. The Four Horses chanted together again in Pony Latin, and Purgatory suddenly began to fill with a deep scarlet red glow quickly, turning the ponies inside into Runners, Shamblers, and Predators. They all turned to the Four Horses, and Magnus began to turn to flee. But rather than charge at them, the ponies inside remained still. The Four Horses turned to Magnus. "Pestilence… this is our plague… help me explain how to solve it," Famine advised.

"Wait… explain the Black Plague more to me…" Magnus requested.

"Very well. The Black Plague; first designed by me, Death, and Pestilence. You may notice that our magic has both benefits and repercussions. The Black Plague was one of those magical bittersweet moments, in fact the first major spell we created," explained Famine.

"Why did you create this spell?" Magnus asked.

"When we first created this spell, Princess Luna of Canterlot had revolted against her sister, Celestia, for her reign over the day, an epic battle was fought between Luna's Shadow Army and Celestia's Royal Guard. Possibly one of the bloodiest and only incidents in the history of Canterlot, both factions faced many deaths," War stated. He then formed a pool of red water, floating in midair. He beckoned Magnus to peer inside, and he did so.

He saw what appeared to be Pegasi, with bat wings and coated in dark purple armor lined with black streaks, attacking the castle situated in Canterlot. Royal Guards then charged at them, piercing them in their abdomens and heads with the antique spears they used then. The Shadow Army lost many of their frontal assault forces, but their rear support forces used their blades to slash and decapitate Royal Guard forces. The battle was desperate, the ground soaking in blood, gore, and carnage, but no one side appeared to have the upper hand over the other, and both sides continued to raise the death toll of the other.

"My god!" Magnus said in horror.

"Yes?" Famine said in reply.

Magnus turned to him in surprise at his response, but then remembered of Famine's status. "So… what happened here that caused you to create the Black Plague?" Magnus asked in confusion.

"Well, about ten days after the assault on the castle began, the Shadow Army finally broke through the Royal Guard defenses, and they began executing soldiers on the spot. Luna herself, wearing her battle garments, captured Celestia, and placed her on death row. What she ended up doing was placing Celestia in the guillotine, and pulling the chord. Long story short, the morning had not come for the next fortnight, and we had to act fast. The only way we could bring back the princess was to resurrect her using Arcane magic. When we did… she came back... no doubt about that…" Pestilence said slowly.

"She came back… but she was possessed by a demon in the process. Our magic was made purely for darkness, and it was the only way to bring her back. The Black Plague places the original soul into the body, but places a demon soul inside as well, and they conflict with each other. Usually, the original soul is stronger than the demon's, but when the body is weak from hunger, wounds, or other factors, the demon soul takes over. Her body attempted to escape Purgatory, hunger on her mind, but we restrained her and prevented her from escaping. That's where your past life comes in…" Famine said.

"Yes… Caelum. He was slightly younger than Celestia, but he had his power fulfilled at the time. War sent for him while we restrained Celestia here. Unfortunately, he refused at first to help with our… problem. We warned him to do so, or the consequences would be dire. Like a fool, he still refused to do so. So we set forth our newly created plague, and unleashed it upon the denizens of Canterlot," Pestilence said.

Magnus stood dumbfounded when he heard Pestilence state they released the Black Plague upon Canterlot, and then that surprise turned into anger. "YOU WHAT!? DO YOU REALIZE HOW MANY LIVES YOU HAVE TAKEN WITH THIS PLAGUE!?" Magnus yelled in rage.

"Calm your tits, Maggie!" War replied angrily. "You're past life, Caelum, refused to do so, and so we 'persuaded' him to help out our dear friend Celestia. And so the deaths across Canterlot helped to convince him to learn the exorcism spell and perform it widely throughout Canterlot. He then arrived in Purgatory, had an angry fit, and finally exorcised Celestia. With the weakened state of Canterlot, she returned to the castle, overthrew her sister, and banished her to the moon for a thousand or so years."

Magnus then felt stupid at realizing why Celestia banished Luna to the moon, and why this incident was kept so far under wraps that not even Caelum dared to reveal the dark past to Magnus.

"So… he learned the exorcism spell… and saved Canterlot. Why would he refuse to do so at first?" Magnus asked.

"He's known us before… seen us in action. He wanted nothing to do with our Arcane magic, until we convinced him otherwise. After performing exceptionally well, we had made him the manager of the damned, while Death here only collected their souls. He did an outstanding job judging the souls, but every so often he would make the mistake of granting a second chance to those who did not need one. We confronted him about this, and he stated he wouldn't have this duty for long anymore, and so he continued. He yet again challenged us, and so we gave him reincarnation powers when he did pass on naturally, to teach him that he will do this for as long as we please," Famine said.

"And so I came back… and I travelled throughout Equestria, my adoptive parents realizing my identity and trying to hide me. So… does that mean… I have to manage the damned as well?" Magnus asked.

"Yes… and for your first task of judgement, you will learn the exorcism spell needed for separating the demons from the ponies possessed. Are you ready, Magnus?" Famine asked.

Magnus raised an eyebrow, and stood unresponsively. "Um… you may have a problem with that…" he said matter-of-factly. Famine raised his brow as well at the response, and turned to Pestilence.

"Pestilence, you know of the spell. Teach it to him, as he is being idiotic," Famine stated.

"One problem with that, Famine; this mortal was onto something. He doesn't have a horn," Pestilence replied. Famine turned back to Magnus, and nodded.

"He doesn't… strange. Caelum had one… perhaps this reincarnation does not. Very well," Famine said. He then glowed his black aura, and he shot a beam of black energy at Magnus, his eyes glowing a dark green, red, and yellow as he did. Magnus was hit with the beam, and he felt a sharp and terrifying pain as he did. He yelled out in agony, and his eyes began to glow the same color as Famine's, until Famine ceased the beam. Magnus collapsed onto the ground, struggling to get up.

"What… what was that for!?" he finally yelled out in anger. Famine, Pestilence, and War all laughed in humor as he did, and Magnus became enraged. "If all you brought me here for was to blast me with your eyes of death, then I'm leaving!" Magnus threatened.

The Horses finally ceased there laughter, heaved the last few sighs of relief, and approached Magnus. "Well, if unicorns can perform a spell to create artificial wings, then we sure as Hell can make a Pegasus have a horn… take a look," Pestilence said. He created a large pool of water, floating sideways so as to act as a makeshift mirror. Magnus stared into it, and reacted in shock as he saw a horn, looking exactly like that of Caelum's, attached to his forehead.

"What… what did you do!?" Magnus stammered, not believing his eyes.

"Relax… it's not permanent. That horn has an endless store of energy, but it will only be of use to you for three days, which should be enough time for you to exorcise Canterlot and Ponyville," Pestilence said.

Magnus touched his horn, amazement mixed with confusion as he did. "How… how do I use this?" Magnus asked in wonder, still feeling his horn.

"You point, concentrate, and then the horn does the rest. Now… this is important that you perform the spell correctly, otherwise you will exorcise both the original soul and the demon, and they will be permanently stuck here in Purgatory. You need not bother with the rotting ones… their souls were harvested long ago, and should immediately be destroyed. The possessed ones who have been killed by the remaining live ponies will collect here, where you will judge them after you exorcise the land. Now, stand at the ready," Pestilence ordered.

Magnus stood, bending a bit as if in a fighting stance. "Now, point at one of the damned souls here…" Pestilence advised next. Magnus looked around, and saw something that made his heart drop. He saw three souls that he immediately recognized; Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Big Macintosh, all of their eyes glowing red and remaining absolutely still. _What? But… they were still Control Freaks when I left… oh, god… what happened when I was gone!?_ He stopped standing at the ready, and he stood staring at the sad sight.

"Magnus, focus. This is why you are here; for their salvation. Now, aim at one of them," Pestilence stated. Magnus stood for another moment, and he nodded slowly. He stood ready again, aimed his horn at Pinkie Pie, and waited. "Now what?" he asked slowly.

"Now… think about complete… utter… life. Pure… innocent… blissful… life," Pestilence said calmly, almost hypnotically. Magnus closed his eyes and attempted to do so, but all that could appear on his mind were images of death, cannibalism, blood, gore, and destruction. His horn glowed brightly a greenish color, and it shot a ray at Pinkie Pie's body. She reacted, and as she did, a blue beam of light exited her body. The light then took the exact form of Pinkie Pie, and she looked around.

"Wow! What a crazy dream! I saw ponies, and then I saw fire, and then I ran, and then… red confetti… and then I woke up!" she said excitedly. She looked at herself, and gasped in astonishment as she did. "I'm… blue now? I can't be Pinkie Pie if I'm blue… I'd have to be called… Blueberry Pie now!" she said disappointedly, her ears lowering in sadness. Magnus turned to her, and then turned to the body, which still had its eyes glowing a blood red, now growling and snarling.

"You thought about death, didn't you?" Pestilence questioned knowledgably. Magnus looked down in shame, and nodded slowly. "OK then… how about this? Think about the one thing that makes you grateful to be alive again. Think of that, and fire again," Pestilence advised.

Magnus nodded, and pointed again to Pinkie's body. He closed his eyes once more, and tried to concentrate. _But… what do I think about? I… I've seen their souls here… what if Alan's is here too? No… no… I will help him. I won't let anything happen to him…_ he thought to himself. His horn glowed yet again, but instead of the green aura it was before, the horn glowed a bright red color. He fired the beam once again, and once again it hit Pinkie's body. This time, however, Pinkie's blue aura was sucked into her body, and another was ejected from it. This one was red, and when it formed, it formed in the shape of a fanged Windigo. The Windigo hissed and neighed wildly, but then something else happened. Magnus's horn fired yet again on its own at the Windigo, and the Windigo was hit with the beam. It neighed and roared in rage once more, before it began dissolving, and eventually disappeared completely.

Magnus stopped firing the beam, and he began panting heavily. Pinkie Pie's eyes stopped glowing red, and returned to their usual blue color. "What just happened!?" she asked excitedly. She then began to slowly fade away, and then disappeared completely. Magnus stared in shock, and his mouth hung wide open.

"Where… where the fuck did she go!?" Magnus interrogated.

"Calm the fuck down, Maggie! She's outside the portal in the castle, completely alive. Seriously, I've had it up to _here_ with your constant bitching!" War yelled in rage, and was held back by Death and Pestilence to prevent him from attacking Magnus. Magnus seemed a bit surprised at War's sudden outburst, but remained calm.

"War, you're lucky I'm not as angry as I used to be… otherwise I would have bitch slapped _you_ to kingdom come!" Magnus struck back, laughing heartily afterwards. War wasn't angry anymore. No, if anything, he was more furious than he had ever been before, and he struggled to get free from Pestilence and Death to attempt to put a beating on Magnus.

"He isn't worth it, War! You know how important he is!" Pestilence said quickly, trying to calm down War. Famine turned to Magnus.

"Magnus… you have received the horn and the spell… do what must be done! Remember… if you wish to resurrect your friends as you have with the pink one, you must return here to do so. Go now… and end the Black Plague once again!" Famine said, as he turned to War and punched him in the face. Magnus nodded, bowed respectfully, and thanked all of them. They hailed him as well, except for War, who created a large, glowing, red hand with a middle finger extended out of magic. Magnus only chuckled at the display, and used his wing to perform the same action. War then grinned widely, and bowed to Magnus. Magnus bowed again, and turned to the portal exit. He went through the portal, and ended up back inside the Four Horses' castle.

"Hey! Leon! I found you!" a familiar voice rang in the building. Magnus turned to the exit, and saw Pinkie Pie, as happy and merry as usual. Magnus looked her up and down, and saw no bite marks whatsoever on her.

Magnus smiled, and embraced Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie… you don't know how happy I am to see you!" he said gratefully. Pinkie Pie returned the warm hug, and then turned to the exit, her ears lowering. "Don't worry, Pinkie… I have clothes for the cold for you. You need it much more than I do." With that, Magnus handed Pinkie the winter clothes from the saddlebag, and she immediately placed them on with one swift motion. She then smiled widely.

"Excellent! Now I'm all nice and cozy!" she said as she squeed excitedly. Magnus then pulled out one of the hatchets from the saddlebag, and gave it to Pinkie Pie. She took it slowly, and her good mood disappeared as she held the hatchet in an almost dreaded way in her hoof. She turned back to Magnus with a horrified look, and appeared as if she was going to break out into tears. "Leon… why? I… I don't want to be scary again… it's… it's horrible. I… I can't be able to control myself… and… and I hurt other ponies…" she said, sniffling and holding back tears.

Magnus had forgotten about Pinkie's bipolar disorder, as well as her manic depression, which was lethal to many ponies. Though no serious incidents had occurred in the past regarding Pinkie's alter ego, Pinkamena, she had caused some harm to ponies regarding attacking them with cupcakes, pans, pots, and spoons. She had been restrained at times in Ponyville Urgent Care, but her conditions remained. Magnus nodded, and extended his hoof for the hatchet. She handed it to him, looking away from it as she did. He took it slowly, and held it in his wing. "All right, Pinkie… it's OK… come on… let's head to Canterlot… would you like to fly on my back?" Magnus asked calmly and soothingly. Tears still lingered in her eyes, and she nodded slowly. She began to climb on his back, and he exited the building. He spread his wings out, and took off from the snow plagued castle towards the south, back to Canterlot.


	22. The Split

Applejack and Draco both made their way back to the Hoofer Dam, both of them breathing heavily and panting. Draco's severed arm wound was still bleeding green dragon blood profusely, and he looked pale and woozy. "Apple… Applejack… I… I need… I need to lie down… for a second…" Draco said, his voice slurred.

Applejack lifted him onto her back, and carried him into the dam control center. "I don't think so, little guy. Those no good freaks are right on our tails, and I ain't gonna become no apple meal for them!" she said, determined. Draco was in no condition to respond, and he groaned in pain. _Hang in there, Draco… you risked your life to save us… the least we can do is help you…_ she thought to herself, desperately trying to keep herself from thinking the worst.

She locked the outside door, and she placed Draco on the ground gently. She looked around for desperately for something to wrap around his stub, sifting through the desks and the lockers. "Come on… something… anything!" she told herself desperately. She heard another door opening, and she immediately aimed the Boomstick at the door. Umbreus stood absolutely still at the open doorway, a bit surprised at the sudden barrel aimed towards him. Applejack lowered her gun, and continued searching for a wrap of some kind.

"What's up with you?" Umbreus asked her, and he turned to Draco lying on the ground motionlessly. His eyes widened, and he rushed over to his side. "SHIT! What happened!?" he asked frantically.

"They up and tore off his arm!" Applejack told him frantically.

"I can see that! I meant how did it happen!?" Umbreus asked with fear. "Did they use their teeth!?"

"No… they took hold of him… and he cut it off…" she said desperately. Umbreus continued searching until he found a roll of gauze. He brought it with him and hurriedly began to wrap Draco's stub of a right arm. He fully covered the wound, and lowered his head in disappointment.

"He's lost a lot of blood… he loses anymore, and he's gone," Umbreus announced sadly.

Applejack turned to him in shock. "Isn't there anything you could do?" she asked.

He shook his head slowly. "He's a reptile… the only way he'll heal is if he does it himself. Who knows how long that'll take…" Umbreus then lifted Draco onto his back, and urged Applejack to follow him. She did so, and they made their way back to the safe room.

…

The two equine figures made their way back into the bunker underground, closing the hatch behind them as they did. Both had found the others settled into the room already, placing down crates of food and other necessities as they did. Umbreus led Applejack through the room, ending up in front of another metal hatch. He pressed the buttons on the console nearby, and it rose with a hiss of air.

Applejack peered inside, and saw the remaining Control Freaks restrained inside, still conscious of themselves for now. They turned to Applejack, and greeted her warmly with the exception of Eric, who remained glaring at her coldly behind restraints. Applejack turned back to Umbreus, and thanked him warmly. He nodded, and shut the hatch to the room. He turned back to the bunker, and approached the remaining survivors; Lyra, Cheerilee, Mare, Scootaloo, Rainbow, Derpy, Dinky, Doc, Bonbon, Colgate, and Alan.

"All right, everypony… most likely, those things outside know we're in here. If that's the case, we'll need to go through the sewers instead of the dam," Umbreus informed grimly.

"And what then? You saw how wrecked that town was… we'd be heading into a deathtrap!" Rainbow argued. Scootaloo stood beside her in agreement, clearly terrified of returning to the ghoul-infested town.

Derpy stepped next to Rainbow as well. "Yeah… and those things are out there too! And I won't let them hurt my little Dinky." As she said this, she brought Dinky in closer to her, embracing her tightly.

"I think it's better to leave than wait here to die," Colgate interjected.

"There's a reason why we left Ponyville… I'm all for staying here," Mayor Mare stated.

"And if they all zerg rush here? They'd probably leave the town empty in that case… it'd make sense to fall back in the town," Lyra countered, standing beside Colgate.

"I'm with Lyra… they'd have to leave the town if they came through the dam," Cheerilee announced.

"Definitely think heading back to town would be a better idea…" Bonbon stated.

Alan silently went over to the other foals, signaling his agreement on staying. Doc did the same, with the exception of heading towards Umbreus's side instead. Between both groups of six ponies was a wide open space, a split in the two sides, occupied only by an unconscious Draco.

"You're going to end up dead if you do go," Mayor Mare warned to the other side.

"You'll be dead if you don't," Colgate stated bluntly.

"I can't believe you're stupid enough to head back!" Rainbow exclaimed angrily.

"I can't believe you're foolish to believe this is any safer!" Doc argued back.

"I can't believe you're not thinking about the foals, Cheerilee!" Mayor Mare interjected harshly.

"I can't believe it's not butter!" Umbreus interrupted gleefully. He looked around and saw all eyes looking either confusedly or disappointedly at him, and he lowered his head in shame.

Lyra shook her head, and turned back to the other group. "Do what you want… it's suicide…" She stopped suddenly as she heard a weak groaning, and the others noticed it as well. They looked around, searching for the source of the soft call. After a while, they looked down, and saw that Draco was beginning to awaken from unconsciousness, and he rubbed his head with his left arm.

"Ow…" he groaned weakly. "I… I can't… oh, god, it hurts!" he exclaimed in agony, clenching his stump tightly. "AH! OH GOD, IT HURTS SO FUCKING MUCH!" he screamed, unable to handle his pain threshold.

Umbreus rushed to his side, and helped him to stand. "I gotcha, buddy… just hang tight…" he said, trying to calm Draco down.

As he lifted Draco up, the other bunker survivors drew their guns out and aimed at Draco. Umbreus turned to them in shock. "Guys, I told you about him… simmer down," he said slowly.

"Yeah… then we actually saw Stumpy…" Mayor Mare said coldly.

"Are you sure he's OK, Umbreus? I mean… well… look at his arm!" Lyra inquired with disbelief.

"I know he is… he wouldn't tell us otherwise." He helped Draco regain his balance, and used his magic to deaden the nerves in the severed arm. "Draco… we're gonna need you here. Should we stay here, or leave back to Ponyville?"

Draco took a few deep breaths, before sighing out, and raising his left arm to his chest holster. He pulled out another cigar, lit it with his flame, and began puffing on it. He blew out rings of smoke through his nostrils, thinking hard. After a minute or so, he took the cigar from his mouth and held it between his claws.

"You wanna know what I think? I think that BOTH of those ideas are genius and fucking stupid at the same time. Why? Because both plans involve staying as far as fucking possible from those things, yet both plans involve places we KNOW are dangerous. We either walk into the death trap, or we stay in the death trap… now, which death trap I prefer… I'd rather know where I'm running than run around blindly… so I'm saying Ponyville," he said, obviously agitated a bit.

Umbreus's group nodded in agreement, and turned back to Rainbow's group. While not moving or making any sound, their glares and lowered heads showed how they thought of the winning retreat point. "All right… then it's settled…" Umbreus said.

"Nothing is settled! If you guys wanna go out into Ponyville, that's your call! As for us… we're staying here!" Rainbow replied angrily. The others on her side murmured in agreement, and stayed standing where they were. Umbreus turned to them in surprise, his mouth hung open. He closed it, and shook his head in disappointment.

"Fine… you do what you want… we're outta here," Umbreus answered back sternly. As Alan saw Draco on the other side, he slowly approached him. Draco knelt down beside him, and grasped his shoulder with his arm.

"Listen Alan… whatever you want to do… I'll stick with you. Where do you want to go?" Draco asked, seriousness filling his voice.

Alan turned away for a bit in fear, looking at both groups. He then turned back to Draco, his eyes very watery now. "I… I don't want everyone to split up…" he answered, stammering.

Draco shook his head slowly. "Looks like we're gonna have to, buddy…"

Alan lowered his head, and sighed deeply. "I… I want to go back home…" he said slowly.

Draco nodded, and turned back to Umbreus. "Count us in." Umbreus nodded, and turned back to the sewer entrance. He led his group towards the metal door, and pressed the buttons on the wall to open it. As it hissed open, all of them turned to glance back at the other survivor group, a mixture of sadness and pity in them. They turned back to the sewer, entered, and engaged the door locked behind them as they began their way back to Ponyville.

…

Rainbow couldn't help but to continue staring at the closed metal door, something inside her tugging at her chest for some reason. She turned away finally, and looked back to Scootaloo. "Don't worry… it's… it's gonna be all right," Rainbow told Scootaloo, trying to reassure her… or perhaps herself.

"You know what we have forgotten… those things are still locked inside here with us," Mayor Mare said, pointing to the locked door where the four Control Freaks where held. Rainbow turned to the mayor in surprise.

"What about them? They won't do anything behind that door…" Rainbow argued.

"And are you willing to risk everypony's lives to keep those things alive?" Mare asked, not at all pleasantly.

"I'm not risking anypony's lives by keeping them in there. Just let them be!" Rainbow argued. Mare did not speak in response… rather; she pulled out her cleaver using her teeth, and approached the metal hatch. Rainbow saw as she did, and rushed to stop her. "You better stop right there, now!"

Mare turned back to her, and ignored her as she continued towards the metal hatch. She entered the series of numbers onto the pad next on the wall, and the hatch opened widely to reveal three Control Freaks within, all restrained. Rainbow ran up to the mayor and held her back using her wings. "Mayor… stop it! Leave them… alone!" Rainbow said, straining as she held back Mare. Mare struggled to get free, but as she failed to do that using strength, she had to rely on one more option. Without a second thought, Mare swung her cleaver down onto the base of Rainbow's left wing.

Rainbow, feeling a huge surge of pain welling in her but not finding the voice to show it, simply gawked at the source of her pain. She gaped at what appeared to be a small, white orb, protruding from her midsection. Surrounding this orb was a small ring of a thick, dark red liquid, slowly seeping around the white protrusion. Rainbow noticed, from the corner of her eye, something twitching ever so slightly. She turned to it, almost with an empty gaze, to find what it was; a wing, cyan and feathered, lying solo on the ground, leaking a bit of blood from where it was supposed to be attached.

Though she didn't realize it immediately, Rainbow had lost her left wing. After the small glance to the severed wing on the ground, Rainbow felt her head spinning madly, and she fell back, hitting the ground hard. She lay motionless, rasping for breath. As she witnessed this, Scootaloo rushed to Rainbow's side, and held her closely, tears in her eyes.

Mare ignored the two, and turned back to the Control Freaks. _Now… to solve our last problem…_ she thought to herself evilly, clenching the cleaver in her teeth and slowly approaching the terrified Freaks.


End file.
